M&A roundup: Big firms get bigger

EisnerAmper, a Top 25 Firm based in New York, has added HDA Accounting Group, a firm in the Denver area that caters to dental practice clients.

The deal is expected to close in early 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

HDA was founded in 2011 and has two partners and a staff of over 65 professionals. EisnerAmper has 450 partners and approximately 4,500 staff members; it ranked No. 17 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $848.7 million in annual revenue.

HDA provides services exclusively to dental practice owners and has over 800 dental practice clients across all 50 states. The firm offers tax compliance and planning, monthly accounting, benchmarking, profitability analytics and revenue advice, using proprietary software tailored to dental practices.

"This combination with EisnerAmper will allow us to enhance our clients' experience through additional expertise, technology, and service offerings," said HDA managing partner Morgan Hamon in a statement Thursday. "We can now offer our dental practice clients value-added advisory services such as cybersecurity, real estate, business valuation, wealth management and much more. We're really excited about this big leap forward."

EisnerAmper sees dental practices as an important niche for outsourced accounting.

"As the outsourced accounting sector becomes ever more focused on industry-tailored solutions, HDA represents a strategic move in both a key practice area and niche," said Dan Gardiner, managing partner of outsourced solutions at EisnerAmper, in a statement. "We warmly welcome HDA and look forward to the exciting growth opportunities with EisnerAmper's Health Care Group."

Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin advised both firms on the deal. "One reason for EisnerAmper's continued growth has been its ability to add new, in-demand practice niches," Koltin said in a statement. "This strategic pairing of EisnerAmper and HDA is all about the cultural fit along with the client-focused resources that each brings to the table."

EisnerAmper has been busy on the M&A front since it received private equity funding in 2021 from TowerBrook Capital Partners, setting the stage for other accounting firms to follow its lead. The firm split into an alternative practice structure with Eisner Advisory Group LLC providing nonattest services and EisnerAmper LLP offering attest services to clients. Last fall, it added Tighe, Kress & Orr, a CPA firm based in Elgin, Illinois. In August, the firm announced it had added Krost CPAs, a Top 100 Firm based in the Los Angeles area, in a combination that's expected to close this month. In May, it announced it would be adding Edelstein & Co., a Regional Leader based in Boston, in June, and in March, announced it was adding the Tidwell Group in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2023, it merged in Spielman Koenigsberg & Parker in New York, Morrison & Morrison in Chicago, and Top 100 Firm Postlethwaite & Netterville in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2022, it added Lindsay & Brownell in La Jolla, California, Hoffman Group in Baltimore, Lurie in Minnesota and Florida, and Top 100 Firm Raich Ende Malter  and Popper & Co. in New York.

BDO USA, a Top 10 Firm based in Chicago, is adding 48 professionals to its management consulting practice from Blue Beyond Consulting, a San Francisco-based firm.

The deal with the management consulting firm marks a strategic expansion of BDO's advisory services, integrating human capital management with strategy, operations, and technology to help clients. The combination is expected to close March 1.

Blue Beyond Consulting focuses on people strategy and solutions, with capabilities in communication, culture, leadership, organizational effectiveness and change management.

"At BDO, we have a fundamental belief that culture drives business success," said CEO Wayne Berson in a statement. "Blue Beyond's mission and work are remarkably aligned with our core purpose and values. Together, we'll be well-positioned to help our clients create environments where people thrive and act as a true catalyst for sustainable growth."

"Blue Beyond's mission has been to build organizations where both the business and people thrive and to be that kind of company for our own employees," said CEO Cheryl Fields Tyler in a statement. "BDO clearly embodies this same philosophy in how it treats employees and how it serves its clients. BDO's deep knowledge and extensive resources will provide new opportunities for our people and clients."

Blue Beyond works with global Fortune 500 and mid-market firms, mainly in the high tech, manufacturing, health care, life sciences, and financial services sectors. Blue Beyond also serves the not-for-profit, government and higher education sectors. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. BDO USA ranked No. 6 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $2.89 billion in annual revenue, 860 partners and a total of 12,212 employees. Some 48 professionals have joined BDO's management consulting practice from Blue Beyond. In December 2023, BDO USA added Flintech Holdings LLC and Dynamics Beyond LLC.

Brady Martz & Associates, a Regional Leader based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, has expanded its dealerships team with the addition of Green & Miller PC based in Corinth, Texas. 

The move will expand the reach of the firm's dealerships client base from 18 to 24 states.

"This transition represents not only growth in this particular industry but also an opportunity to combine the unique strengths of both firms," Brady Martz CEO Stacy DuToit said in a statement Thursday. "Green & Miller brings expertise and valued relationships to the firm, and we are eager to support them in delivering the high-quality service their clients have come to expect."

Green & Miller has been providing accounting, tax, and advisory services to clients for nearly 30 years. The team will join Brady Martz, and the office located in Corinth will operate as Brady Martz & Associates.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Brady Martz ranked No. 6 on Accounting Today's 2024 Regional Leaders list of the Top Firms in the Midwest, with $55.21 million in annual revenue, approximately 50 partners and over 270 employees. The firm was founded in 1927 and operates across nine offices in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota, offering advisory, audit, assurance and tax services.