The $1 sale of PwC Australia’s scandal-hit government consultancy arm is going ahead, paving the way for the transfer of 1750 employees to the buyer.

Private equity firm Allegro Funds and PwC reached an agreement on the sale of the business for the nominal fee, effective July 1.

The deal paves the way for the creation of a specialist government consultancy, to be named Scyne Advisory, when the sale is completed by the end of August.

Allegro plans to commit more than $100 million to employment and operational costs during the transition phase.

In the short term, Scyne will be led by teams from PwC’s various government consultation practices ahead of the appointment of a permanent chief executive.

The sale marks PwC’s exit from all government advisory work at both the state and federal levels.

• How could PwC be sold for less than the price of a postage stamp?

PwC has faced immense pressure since it was accused of abusing its trusted role as an adviser when staff leaked information about proposed federal government tax changes to clients.

The firm launched an internal inquiry and federal police are also investigating.

On Monday, eight partners were shown the door, including former chief executive Tom Seymour, who had already stepped down ahead of his retirement date.

The total number of people to depart the consulting giant following the scandal stands at 12.

“We are backing the leaders of Scyne Advisory and their vision to drive real change in the public service advisory sector,” Allegro co-founder Adrian Loader said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Scyne Advisory will have an industry-leading governance model able to meet the requirements of the Australian government and its agencies.”

– AAP