Ryan Acquires Altus Group’s Property Tax Business in $500 Million Deal

By Andrew Long, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

Ryan, a Dallas-based company that describes itself as the largest business-specific tax services and software firm in the world, announced Tuesday that it is acquiring the property tax wing of Canadian commercial real estate services and software company Altus Group Limited.

The deal is worth $700 million in Canadian currency ($500 million in the U.S.) on top of a Canadian $5-million-per-year commitment to an Altus Market Insights subscription for three years, and will go into effect in early 2025 pending regulatory approval.

The purchase opens a number of new markets for Ryan, including property tax services in the United Kingdom as well as broader access to American and Canadian companies. It also opens access to Ryan’s services for Altus Group’s clients.

“This acquisition will provide benefits for both Altus’s property tax clients and Ryan’s global clients from bolstered local expertise powered by industry-leading technologies,” G. Brint Ryan, chairman and CEO of Ryan, wrote in a statement. “Altus has built an impressive property tax business that is highly regarded as a trusted advisor in the industry, and we believe our clients will enjoy many enhanced benefits from our combined platform. We look forward to welcoming the many talented Altus team members to the Ryan family.”

Altus Group’s property tax business is the latest acquisition in a long chain of mergers for Ryan across various sectors, from severance taxes and commercial real estate to tax credits, excise taxes and, of course, property taxes.

Ryan said that Altus Group’s property tax business netted $263 million in Canadian cash ($193 million in U.S.) in revenue in 2023 and acquiring the company will create 975 more jobs across the globe. This adds substantial financial mettle to Ryan, which already employs more than 4,800 people and works with more than 30,000 clients in more than 80 countries. The company was valued at $2.5 billion in 2022.

For Altus Group, the sale will allow the company to “concentrate resources on higher-growth Analytics” and improve its “revenue predictability” and “earnings quality” due to lower costs and lessened debt.

“This transaction allows Altus Group to focus on the substantial growth opportunities in our core Analytics business while ensuring our property tax clients will continue to be well serviced by Ryan’s leading capabilities,” wrote Jim Hannon, Chief Executive Officer of Altus Group.

Outside of its acquisitions, Ryan made headlines earlier this year as one of the first businesses to file suit against the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling that outlawed noncompete clauses, which are made between employers and employees to stop workers from starting similar businesses or moving to competitors in the future. Ryan said that these agreements, which affect roughly one in five Americans, protect intellectual property and removing them gives the government undue authority over private business decisions.

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