M&A roundup: CBIZ, DHG, Hawkins Ash, Meaden & Moore, and Deloitte expand

September 2, 2021 5:01 PM

CBIZ acquired Shea Labagh Dobberstein; Dixon Hughes Goodman integrated Burkhart & Co.; Hawkins Ash CPAs merged in Roberts, Ritschke & Tyczkowski; Meaden & Moore acquired Long Cook & Samsa; and Deloitte added a legal services team.

CALIFORNIA: CBIZ acquires Shea Labagh Dobberstein

Details: CBIZ, a Top 10 Firm based in Cleveland, said its subsidiary CBIZ MHM Northern California LLC has acquired the non-attest assets of Shea Labagh Dobberstein, a firm based in San Francisco, California, effective Sept. 1, 2021. At the same time, Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., with which CBIZ operates an alternative practice structure, has acquired the attest assets of SLD.

SLD has offices in San Francisco, San Mateo and Walnut Creek, California, where it provides accounting, tax and advisory services. The firm has been in the San Francisco Bay area since 1944. SLD has 95 employees and approximately $30 million in annual revenue. CBIZ ranked 10th on Accounting Today’s 2021 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $824.7 million in annual revenue. The firm has nearly 500 partners and nearly 4,000 employees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We continue to invest in opportunities across California as part of our long-term strategy to better establish our brand, increase our presence and expand our reach up and down the West Coast,” said CEO president and CEO Jerry Grisko in a statement Wednesday. “In SLD, we found a partner with a complementary service and client mix, an expert team and a long-standing commitment to exceptional client service."

SLD expects to offer more services to its clients through the combination. "Joining CBIZ is an important step forward for our clients and team,” said SLD managing principal James Dobberstein in a statement. “This move allows us to offer additional services to address client needs while providing growth and development opportunities for our team members.”

Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin advised both firms on the deal, "SLD was diligent in its efforts to identify the right partner that would enhance the client experience, expand opportunities for their professionals and continue to pursue growth,” Koltin said in a statement. “SLD selected CBIZ because it checked all the boxes. The alignment on values and strong client focus made this a natural fit."

In April, CBIZ and MHM acquired

Berntson Porter & Company PLLC

, a firm in Bellevue, Washington. Last September CBIZ acquired substantially all of the assets of

ARC Consulting LLC and ARC Placement Group LLC

of San Francisco.

TENNESSEE: Dixon Hughes Goodman integrates Burkhart & Co.

The atrium at Dixon Hughes Goodman's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

Courtesy of Dixon Hughes Goodman

Details: Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, a Top 20 Firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has added Burkhart & Co PC, a firm in Knoxville, Tennessee, effective Sept. 1, expanding DHG’s family office services.

Burkhard’s 20-person team specializes in providing professional management and personal CFO services to affluent families. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

DHG ranked 17th on Accounting Today’s 2021 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $475 million in annual revenue. The firm has approximately 230 partners and 2,200 employees.

“The integration with Burkhart & Company and the addition of the family office service offering, enables us to further fulfill our mission and support our current and prospective clients’ strategic goals,” said DHG CEO Matt Snow in a statement Thursday. “We are proud to welcome the Burkhart & Co. team and clients to DHG and continue to expand our growing presence in the Tennessee market.”

Burkhart offers a virtual family office service for high-net-worth families. It has been providing services tax compliance, strategy formation, back-office and family finance services since 1982.

“We view this integration as a step forward in our evolution and truly believe it will broaden and deepen our offerings with greater resources, such as tax specialty services and IT solutions,” said Burkhart president Renda Burkhart in a statement. “We remain committed to providing an excellent client experience as well as the confidentiality and security our clients entrust in us.”

DHG has not announced many merger deals lately, but in late 2019, it added

RyanSharkey

, a firm based in Vienna, Virginia.

WISCONSIN: Hawkins Ash CPAs merges in Roberts, Ritschke & Tyczkowski

Details: Hawkins Ash CPAs, a firm in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has added Roberts, Ritschke & Tyczkowski, Ltd. in Neenah, Wisconsin, effective Sept. 1.

As part of the deal, RR&T partners Russell Ritschke, Jeffery Tyczkowski, Vicki Krueger and Keith Depies, along with 12 staff members, will be joining Haskins Ash, while continuing to operate from the same office in Neenah.

The deal enables Hawkins Ash to expand its footprint in northeastern Wisconsin. “This merger fits well into our growth, development and service strategy,” said Hawkins Ash managing partner Abraham Leis in a statement. “With the addition of RR&T in Neenah, Wisconsin, we now have 10 offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota and are very excited to start serving more clients in the Fox Valley. The partners and entire RR&T staff bring a multitude of knowledge to Hawkins Ash, particularly in tax and accounting services. Their expertise in valuations and estate and fiduciary compliance complements ours, so clients can expect more service options and the same level of excellent service.”

RR&T has been in business for 44 years. “We couldn’t be happier to join Hawkins Ash,” Depies said in a statement. “We’re especially excited for our clients and employees to reap the rewards of the support and stability of such a well-established, respected firm.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hawkins Ash ranked 24th on Accounting Today’s Regional Leaders list of the Top Firms in the Great Lakes region, with $20.9 million in annual revenue. The firm has been around since 1956, providing audit, accounting, tax, and consulting services. With the RR&T deal, Hawkins Ash now has seven offices in Wisconsin, three offices in Minnesota, 20 partners and over 160 professionals.

OHIO: Meaden & Moore acquires Long Cook & Samsa

Details: Meaden & Moore Inc., a firm based in Cleveland, has acquired Long Cook & Samsa, a firm in Wooster, Ohio.

The deal adds 10 professionals to Meaden & Moore, who will be joining the firm’s existing office in Wooster. Meaden & Moore has 20 offices and 209 professionals prior to the acquisition.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Both firms share an ongoing discipline of learning, curiosity and an entrepreneurial spirit which allows us to deliver the solutions and guidance our clients have come to expect,” said Meaden & Moore CEO James P. Carulas in a statement Thursday. “Furthermore, it demonstrates Meaden & Moore’s commitment to meeting the accounting, tax and business advisory needs of businesses and individuals throughout Wayne, Holmes and Ashland Counties, and expands our presence in a community we have been part of since 1965.”

Long Cook & Samsa dates back to 1983 and focuses on attest, tax preparation, business consulting and litigation support services for closely held businesses and community organizations. “In addition to the services we provide, we share a culture committed to client service and are very excited to offer expanded resources to our clients,” said managing partner Greg Long in a statement.

Meaden Moore's last acquisitions was of JM Green & Company of Beachwood, Ohio, in 2014.

ILLINOIS: Deloitte adds legal services team

Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Details: Deloitte has added Oya Solutions founder and CEO Teju Deshpande and other members of her team to its rapidly expanding legal business services practice.

Deshpande specializes in contract life management and will become a principal in Deloitte Tax LLP, based in Chicago.

Deloitte has not acquired Oya Solutions, but the hiring of Deshpande and members of her team will expand Deloitte’s ability to help legal departments digitally transform their contracting functions. Deloitte LBS has grown significantly since its launch in July 2020

“Deloitte’s multidisciplinary capabilities and trusted brand, combined with the deep experience and credibility that our legal business services team possesses are what truly differentiates our offerings to clients and has led to unprecedented growth and the rapid expansion of our marketplace leadership,” said Valerie Dickerson, a partner in legal business services at Deloitte Tax.

Deshpande co-founded Oya Solutions in 2019. She is expected to help grow Deloitte’s legal business services practice with her experience in contract life cycle management.

“Our research indicates that increasing digitization of contract management is a high priority for most organizations, said Mark Ross, a principal in legal business services at Deloitte Tax. “Our clients are embracing the need to better understand how contracts are managed, with a true appreciation of data’s power. However, they need help in assessing, and reengineering end-to-end CLM processes, as well as identifying and implementing enabling technologies. Teju and the Oya team’s arrival at Deloitte further accelerates our ability to support our clients’ contract management transformation efforts.”