Antares Group, Inc., plans to acquire Gray, Gray & Gray’s Franchise Group, effective Oct. 1, 2018, expanding the Georgia-based firm’s client base of McDonald’s franchisees to dozens of other states.
Antares Group is based in Conyers, Georgia, near Atlanta, while Gray, Gray & Gray is based in Canton, Massachusetts, part of Greater Boston. Gray, Gray & Gray is only selling its Franchise Group but will remain a separate firm. Once the deal has been finalized, Antares will represent nearly 1,600 McDonald’s restaurants in 37 states, making it one of the biggest CPA firms in the U.S. servicing McDonald’s owner/operators.
Currently, Antares Group has five partners, but with the acquisition, it will have seven. Antares Group currently has approximately 73 employees, but once the merger is complete, it will have 92.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gray, Gray & Gray ranked 9th on Accounting Today’s 2018 Regional Leaders list of Top Firms in New England, with $23 million in annual revenue. Antares did not disclose its revenue. After the acquisition, Antares Group will remain headquartered in Conyers, Georgia, while adding a new office in Boston.
Antares has been servicing fast food restaurant owners since 1984, providing monthly accounting services, tax planning and business strategy advice, succession planning, purchase and sales consulting, estate and retirement planning, and back-office outsourcing.
“Our combined experience and expertise positions us to pool our resources with the best people and technology to continue to be the leading accounting firm working with McDonald’s owner/operators and small businesses,” said Antares Group CEO Emmitt White in a statement.
Like the Antares Group, Gray, Gray & Gray’s Franchise Group has more than 30 years of experience working with fast food restaurant owners, full-service restaurants and other business owners.
“This opportunity to merge with Antares Group, Inc. is exciting for us and aligns with our goal of being the premier CPA firm serving restaurateurs and McDonald’s owner/operators,” said Mark Kashgegian, a partner at Gray, Gray & Gray who leads the Franchise Group and was elected last year to the board of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
The combined firm plans to remain committed to their involvement with the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and the Georgia Restaurant Association, as well as charities such as the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern New England, along with local organizations supported by the firm’s associates and partners.
