From $6M to a Top 100 Accounting Firm in Two Years?

From three <$6M firms in 2024… to a potential Top 100 seat in 2026.

Aline Accounting Partners has already reached $21M in revenue (#256 nationally) and completed nine acquisitions. With a new $100M debt package (including a $57.8M delayed-draw term loan), they’ve positioned themselves to add $40–$60M of incremental revenue through acquisitions over the next two years.

That trajectory would put them just over the $60M Top 100 threshold — a remarkable leap in such a short time.

This isn’t the traditional partnership model. It’s a PE-style playbook — fueled by private credit instead of outside equity. Aline may be pioneering a new path: small firms combining, leveraging debt, and scaling into the Top 100 without selling to private equity.

In this issue, I’ll break down:

• How the capital stack works (Revolver / Term Loan / DDTL)
• Why private credit is emerging as an alternative to PE in accounting M&A
• Other firms scaling this quickly — and how Aline fits in

For CFOs, private equity investors, and accounting firm leaders, Aline’s trajectory is more than a one-off story — it’s a signal. Private credit is now a viable alternative to equity for fueling consolidation. That means more firms can pursue scale without giving up ownership, and more investors will be watching how these debt-first platforms perform. The Top 100 cutoff is no longer a distant goal; with the right structure, even <$10M firms can get there in just a few years.

The Deal

In August 2025, Aline raised a $100M debt package to accelerate its acquisition strategy:

• $5M revolving credit facility
• $37.2M senior term loan
• $57.8M delayed-draw term loan (DDTL)

The delayed-draw term loan is the critical piece. Unlike a standard term loan, Aline doesn’t pay for it until it’s drawn, which means they’ve effectively locked in dry powder for future acquisitions. That’s a structure you’d expect in private equity roll-ups, but it’s rare to see it disclosed in accounting.

Houlihan Lokey formally announced the transaction earlier this week. Their involvement underscores a broader trend: top-tier advisors are now actively structuring debt-first growth plays for accounting firms. And for every Aline that makes headlines, there are likely others quietly arranging similar financings without a press release.

Why It Matters

Aline’s financing isn’t just about structure — it’s about scale.

With the $57.8M delayed-draw term loan as M&A firepower, they could conservatively add $40–$60M of incremental revenue. That would take them from $21M today to $61–81M total, enough to break into the Top 100 accounting firms within two years.

Even at the low end of that range, Aline would clear the ~$60M Top 100 threshold.

📊 How the math works

• Typical EBITDA margins in CPA/OCFO firms: 15–25%
• Observed EBITDA multiples for smaller firms: 5–7x

That translates to implied revenue multiples:

• At 15% margin → 5x EBITDA = 0.75x revenue; 7x = 1.05x revenue
• At 25% margin → 5x EBITDA = 1.25x revenue; 7x = 1.75x revenue

So the realistic range for acquisitions is ~0.8–1.7x revenue. And in practice, once you layer in seller notes and rollover equity, the cash-at-close multiple tends to cluster closer to ~1.0x revenue.

That means every $1 of debt capacity roughly buys $1 of revenue. The DDTL alone could support ~$55–60M of acquired revenue, but taking a conservative approach (only deploying ~70% of the facility and assuming some deals close closer to 1.2x), you land in the $40–60M incremental revenue range.

This is PE-style playbook growth without any disclosed PE sponsor. If Aline pulls this off, it suggests that private credit alone can power accounting firms into the Top 100, something that wasn’t really considered possible until now.

Market Context: where Aline sits among the fast movers

Crete Professionals Alliance (Thrive-backed). Founded in 2023 and scaling fast—hundreds of millions in reported revenue, 20+ firm combinations, and a large acquisition budget. This is the “hyperscale” end of the market: PE capital + aggressive roll-ups + tech enablement.

Prosperity Partners (Unity Partners). PE-backed platform recognized among the fastest-growing firms in 2025. Active on acquisitions (e.g., transaction advisory and regional tax/accounting firms), combining M&A with organic expansion across multiple offices.

Springline Advisory (Trinity Hunt Partners). A mid-market build: launched with established regional firms and adding advisory-heavy practices. Strategy is APS-friendly, stitching together complementary service lines rather than chasing headline size alone.

Platform Accounting Group . Boutique roll-up that raised growth capital and executed a high volume of small-firm acquisitions across many states. Model emphasizes preserving local firm identity while centralizing ops, tech, and recruiting.

Traditional PE plays

Citrin Cooperman . Scaled rapidly under private equity ownership, culminating in a 2025 secondary transaction to a larger sponsor—classic PE playbook applied to a major accounting platform.

Grant Thornton (US) . Took on a growth investment and operates under an alternative practice structure (attest vs. advisory). Capital is earmarked for tech, talent, and M&A—an incumbent adopting the platform toolkit.

BDO USA (ESOP + private credit). Not PE equity—BDO executed an ESOP transition financed with a large private-credit package anchored by a leading direct lender. It’s the most prominent example of non-PE capital powering a major firm transition.

The spectrum—and Aline’s position

• Debt-first platform: Aline—$100M package including a $57.8M DDTL; aims to fund add-on M&A with private credit (no PE sponsor publicly disclosed).
• PE-backed new platforms: Prosperity, Springline, Platform—active acquisition engines with sponsor support.
• Hyperscale consolidator: Crete—PE-backed, large budget, high deal velocity.
• Established incumbents with outside capital: Citrin, Grant Thornton, BDO—different capital structures, same objective: accelerate growth.

Takeaway: Aline starts from a smaller base but, if it deploys its DDTL effectively, it can follow the same buy-and-build arc—potentially proving that private credit alone can push a sub-$10M starting point toward Top-100 scale on a compressed timeline.

What this means for Aline—and for the market

Aline isn’t Citrin or Crete. It’s starting from $21M of revenue, not hundreds of millions. But the comparables make one thing clear: there is no longer a single playbook for growth in accounting and OCFO advisory.

• Crete shows what happens when a new entrant blitzscales with hundreds of millions of committed PE dollars.
• Prosperity, Springline, and Platform represent sponsor-backed middle-market consolidators, buying dozens of firms at a time.
• Citrin, Grant Thornton, and BDO are incumbents reshaped by outside capital—whether PE or private credit.

Aline sits in a different spot on that spectrum. By locking in $100M of debt capacity (with $57.8M earmarked for acquisitions), it has the chance to prove something new: that a sub-$10M base can merge, lever up, and vault into the Top 100 in under two years—without giving up equity to a PE sponsor.

If they succeed, it won’t just be a milestone for Aline. It will be a signal to every regional firm and every lender watching: private credit is now a credible alternative to private equity in driving consolidation.

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