Getting two public accounting firms that are among the top 100 largest in the U.S. in terms of revenue to tie the knot is harder than it used to be. But it actually happened twice in the latter half of 2020: CliftonLarsonAllen and Blumshapiro made a deal happen in late December and before that in August when Baker Tilly found a willing dance partner in Irvine, CA-based Squar Milner.
And it just happened again last week when Miami-based public accounting firm MBAF joined forces with BDO USA. Because No. 38 hooked up with No. 7, the MBAF/BDO deal could be touted as a “mega merger.” And it could potentially lead to BDO vaulting over Grant Thornton into sixth place in the public accounting firm revenue rankings.
But the “biggest deal of the century?” Really???
Oh well, that does it then. I guess no other deal this century will top that one. Not even a merger between Dixon Hughes Goodman and Moss Adams to form Hughes Dixon Moss.
remember, accountants don’t get out much!
This is a typical Koltin approach.
And the media keeps quoting him as an industry sage when he was the broker on the deal, a little lack of independence. (and he probably asked for a fee from both parties on the deal – he likes to double dip)
Koltin likes to sellout firms to BDO like sheep to the slaughter. It is usually bad for both firms and rarely strategic for either. It results in partner reclassifications and very little employee engagement but BDO needs to try to stay relevant.
Why is GC always so depressingly jaded?