M&A roundup: Deals in accounting, financial planning and tech

Details: RubinBrown, a Top 50 Firm based in St. Louis, has added Himes Consulting Group in Chicago. 

Himes Consulting Group has been around for over 15 years and specializes in helping clients optimize business processes; reorganize, select and implement customer relationship management systems; and design and implement robotics process automation technology.

RubinBrown ranked No. 44 on Accounting Today’s 2022 list of the Top 100 Firms. The firm earned annual revenue of approximately $160 million with 750 team members and 147 partners in six offices including Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Nashville and St. Louis. Himes has approximately 15 team members and one partner. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The combined firm will operate within RubinBrown’s Business Advisory Services Group. 

RubinBrown dates back to 1952. Its Business Advisory Services Group helps clients with ERP systems, cybersecurity, enterprise risk management, fraud and forensics, information technology and risk services. “This combination reflects RubinBrown’s commitment to growth in the business advisory and process improvement spaces as well as our continued expansion in Chicago,” said RubinBrown chairman John Herber in a statemnt. “With the ever-changing world of today, having a trusted consulting partner for our clients’ businesses is more important than ever.” 

Himes Consulting Group managing partner Rob Himes will be joining RubinBrown as a partner and all his team members will join RubinBrown, while remaining in Chicago.

“We are thrilled to merge with RubinBrown,” Himes said in a statement Tuesday. “We look forward to continuing to improve our clients’ businesses and expand our reach to help clients that are looking for a trusted consulting advisor.”

Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin helped arrange the deal. “Himes Consulting Group and RubinBrown are a perfect match,” he said in a statement. “This deal builds upon the recent addition of the ERP consulting practice, formerly known as Liberty Technology Advisors, which RubinBrown acquired 11 months ago. Combining ERP advisory services with process improvement, change management, CRM and RPA consulting is a winning strategy.”

Last year, RubinBrown added Liberty Technology Advisors, a software consulting firm in Chicago. In May, RubinBrown merged in JMW & Associates in Overland Park, Kansas. 

Details: WA Asset Management, a registered investment advisory firm based in Birmingham, Alabama that is affiliated with Top 100 Firm Warren Averett, has acquired BT Wealth Management LLC, an advisory firm in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.

The M&A deal is the second acquisition since Warren Averett sold a majority stake in its asset management subsidiary last November to Wealth Partners Capital Group, a financial services holding company in Palm Beach, Florida, and HGGC, an investment firm in Palo Alto, California (see story). In April, WA Asset Management acquired Clark Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm in Birmingham, Alabama.

BTWM was founded in 2008 as the wealth management division of a different Top 100 Firm, Bennett Thrasher LLP. Under the leadership of managing partner Scott Craig, BTWM has grown to approximately $1 billion in assets under management. The acquisition closed on June 30, and will increase WAAM’s AUM by approximately $1 billion. Financial terms were not disclosed. WAAM manages $4.3 billion in assets as of May 31, 2022, and offers collaborative investment, tax, estate and financial planning services.

BTWM’s entire 14-person team will join WAAM, with Craig assuming the role of regional director, Clay McDaniel becoming chief investment officer of private markets, and Justin Snell becoming chief operating officer.

“WAAM’s philosophy is rooted in its commitment to clients and supporting them through every step of their lives,” said WAAM CEO Josh Reidinger in a statement last week. “We see these same values woven into the culture at BTWM. This acquisition lays the groundwork for further growth in the Southeast and beyond, and we are thrilled to welcome the talented and dedicated BTWM professionals to our team.”

WAAM plans to rename itself and redefine its brand in the months ahead, suggesting it is moving away from its Warren Averett origins, but it may yet retain some of that history.

“WAAM is in a period of rapid growth and we are being thoughtful about how our firm’s mission, values and goals are reflected in our marketplace positioning,” said WAAM president Justin Russell in a statement. “Our goal is to honor our heritage and the valuable partnerships we’ve fostered throughout our history, while simultaneously showcasing our forward-looking momentum.”

Details: BigTime Software, a Chicago-based professional services software firm, has acquired Projector PSA, a provider of cloud-based professional services automation software.

The acquisition comes six months after a $100 million strategic growth investment from Vista Equity Partners. Together, they serve over 2,700 companies tracking over $10 billion of billable time each year. They work with accounting, consulting, architecture, engineering and IT services firms, providing cloud-based practice management features.

“This is a unique opportunity to connect Projector’s deep consulting, substantive functionality and sophisticated customer expertise with BigTime’s operational scale and intuitive user experience,” said BigTime CEO Brian Saunders in a statement Tuesday. “Our combined strengths enable us to better serve the needs of the middle market and, together, our capabilities will allow our customers to drive operational excellence and maximize profitability.”

Projector’s office in Boston, will become BigTime’s third U.S. office, joining its Chicago and Phoenix locations. Projector CEO Denis Whelan will become president of the Projector business unit at BigTime, which plans to continue to invest in and support Projector’s existing system.