Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, a Top 100 Firm, is adding the municipal advisory firms H.J. Umbaugh and Associates, CPAs, LLP, and Springsted Incorporated, in a three-way merger.
The combination is expected to be effective in the first quarter of this year. The deal will help Baker Tilly bolster its municipal advisory practice, which offers financial guidance to cities, towns, townships, counties, utilities, schools, libraries, hospitals and airports.
“This strategic combination brings together what we believe to be a unique set of resources within a premiere municipal advisory practice,” said Baker Tilly partner and public sector practice leader Vicki Hellenbrand in a statement. “We are dedicated to the public sector by serving state and local governmental units and nonprofit organizations.”
Umbaugh and Springsted have nearly 200 team members and more than 130 years of combined operating experience. Baker Tilly has 326 partners and 3,150 staff, while Umbaugh has 16 partners and 101 employees, and Springsted has six partners and 62 employees.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Baker Tilly, based in Chicago, ranked 14th on Accounting Today’s 2018 list of the Top 100 Firms. It had $578 million in revenue for fiscal year 2018, while Umbaugh has $26 million in revenue for calendar year 2018 and Springsted had $12.5 million in revenue for fiscal year 2017.
Gary Adamson of Adamson Advisory LLC advised Umbaugh on the deal, while Robert Metzfield and Steve McConley of Wells Fargo Advisors LLC advised Springsted.
Baker Tilly’s public sector practice already includes 220 professionals who serve nearly 1,000 government clients. The firm provides audit and advisory services for government clients, including financial forecasting, consolidations, forensics, expert witness services, enterprise resource planning, process and efficiency analysis, and internal controls reviews and recommendations.
Umbaugh is an Indianapolis-based CPA firm focusing solely on services such as financial management, capital planning, bond issuance and post issuance advising and consulting for municipalities, utilities, schools, libraries, counties and townships. Among other services, it performs municipal advisory services, utility rate studies, cost-of-service analysis, cash advisory services, financial planning, and tax increment and economic development strategies.
“We are proud of our longstanding reputation for helping community leaders resolve the financial issues they face as they work to improve the quality of life in their communities,” Umbaugh executive partner Todd Samuelson said in a statement. “Joining forces with Baker Tilly and Springsted gives us national resources and broader capabilities to expand services to our clients as well as enhance growth and development opportunities for our team members.”
Umbaugh and Springsted are both members of the National Association of Municipal Advisors. Springsted, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, specializes in offering public finance and human capital services for public and nonprofit organizations. Its public finance services include municipal finance and post-issuance compliance, operational finance, investment and housing and economic development services. Springsted’s human capital services encompass executive recruitment, management consulting, compensation consulting and community surveys.
“We look forward to continuing to provide highly personalized financial, management and human resources advisory solutions that address the unique needs of today’s communities,” Springsted President Kathleen Aho said in a statement. “There is a strong cultural alignment between Springsted, Umbaugh and Baker Tilly. Each firm is progressive and entrepreneurial with complementary skill sets and a shared focus on people and commitment to excellent client service. This combination gives us a wider platform and more delivery channels to better serve our clients and enhances professional growth opportunities for our team members.”
Baker Tilly did a number of M&A deals last year. Last October, the firm expanded to Houston by
