Compliance Risk Concepts acquires Oyster Consulting

Compliance Risk Concepts (CRC), a New York-based risk and compliance consultancy serving the financial services industry, has acquired Oyster Consulting, a Richmond, VA-based strategy and operations consultancy focusing on the financial services industry.

The deal, which closed on June 20, will create the new brand of CRC-Oyster.

The acquisition follows CRC’s receipt of a significant growth investment in January 2024 from MidOcean Partners, a New York-based mid-market private equity firm focusing on consumer and business services.

CRC-Oyster will have approximately 100 professionals, with each firm roughly the same size and bringing complementary capabilities for financial services clients.

Oyster was founded in 2008 and provides consulting, outsourcing and software for strategy, operations, finance, capital markets, compliance, expert witness, and registration. The firm works with broker-dealers, exchanges, investment advisors, and law firms.

CRC was founded in 2013 and provides consulting in enterprise compliance risk management, financial and operations principal services, research compliance, independent due diligence, expert witness, and blockchain assets/cryptocurrency. The firm works primarily with broker-dealers and SEC and state-registered investment advisors.

“Our clients look to us to be on the forefront of change, ensuring they are well positioned to succeed as the regulatory and compliance landscape evolves,” said Mitch Avnet, founder of CRC. “Our acquisition of Oyster is a testament to this commitment to our clients, allowing us to expand our capabilities, strengthen our team and better position us to serve our collective clients in deeper and more meaningful ways.”

As part of the acquisition, Oyster CEO Buddy Doyle joins the executive leadership team, where he will focus on integrating the teams at CRC-Oyster and driving continued growth.

“Our goal is to help CRC amplify its impact within the marketplace, and this acquisition is a perfect example of that growth strategy in action,” said Elias Dokas, managing director of MidOcean Partners.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.