Cherry Bekaert LLP has acquired CTS Capital Advisors LLC, expanding the Top 100 Firm’s transaction advisory and valuation services, particularly for private equity funds and lenders.
The acquisition adds 25 due diligence and valuation professionals to Cherry Bekaert, who will help handle global transactions for mergers and acquisitions, earnings engagements, carve-outs, restructurings, integrations and working capital assistance and other services.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cherry Bekaert, based in Richmond, Virginia, ranked No. 26 on Accounting Today’s 2018 list of the Top 100 Firms. Cherry Bekaert had more than $200 million in annual revenue, while CTS had $7 million in annual revenue.
CTS, founded in 2003 and based in Bethesda, Maryland, specializes in buy- and sell-side due diligence, valuation, CFO outsourcing and business advisory services. The firm has advised companies on more than 500 deals, totaling over $13 billion in transaction value.
As part of the deal, three professionals from CTS are joining Cherry Bekaert as principals: Jeffrey Bengtson, Sean Geoghan and Sidney Glick. Bengtson, a former co-founder and managing member of CTS, is also becoming national leader of Cherry Bekaert’s transaction advisory services practice.
He and the rest of the 25 former CTS professionals will be relocating to Cherry Bekaert’s offices in Bethesda. Cherry Bekaert has more than 1,100 professionals, including 145 partners.
“The cultural fit and shared growth vision made Cherry Bekaert an ideal match for CTS,” Bengtson said in a statement. “The combined service capabilities platform and national reach will greatly benefit our professionals and offer additional value to our clients.”
“We are excited to join forces with Cherry Bekaert to accelerate the expansion of our national transaction advisory and valuation practice,” said Geoghan. “The added specialty resources in the areas of IT due diligence, cybersecurity and transaction tax, and a deeper bench of transaction and valuation talent will allow us to broaden our geographic reach and grow our private equity relationships and practice focus across the U.S.”
“The demand for our transaction advisory and valuation services continues to grow,” said Cherry Bekaert managing partner of advisory services Scott Moss in a statement. “The leadership of Jeff and Sean, along with the talent and experience we are bringing in with the CTS professionals, will allow us to meet this demand and expand our service capabilities in the areas of financial due diligence, global transaction advisory, valuation, and mergers and acquisitions consulting.”
Cherry Bekaert has done a number of M&A deals since last year. In February, it expanded to Austin, Texas by acquiring
