M&A roundup: Weaver, Porte Brown and HW&Co. expand

Weaver, a Top 40 Firm based in Houston, made its biggest acquisition to date, merging in HKG LLP, a firm based in Pasadena, California, effective June 1. 

The deal will add 65 professionals, including seven partners to the firm, significantly expanding Weaver's West Coast presence to six offices and 150 total team members, including 18 partners. Weaver will now have a total of 1,000 employees, including 160 partners.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Weaver ranked No. 34 on Accounting Today's 2023 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $197.6 million in annual revenue.

HKG was founded in 1995 and provides audit, tax and accounting services to clients in industries including private equity, health care, life sciences, manufacturing and distribution, real estate, media, professional services, early stage and emerging growth companies, and not-for-profits. 

"HKG is the right strategic and cultural fit for Weaver," said Weaver CEO and managing partner John Mackel in a statement Thursday. "We share an unwavering commitment to client success, acting with integrity and always striving to transcend expectations. With a strong commercial practice in Pasadena, HKG has a diverse client base, strong relationships and a talented team."

HKG managing partner Tony Gronroos will become Weaver's partner-in-charge of Los Angeles tax services, working closely with Blayne Lowary, the leader of Weaver's west coast investment fund tax practice. Gronroos will also become the Los Angeles executive partner responsible for the Pasadena office. 

"The partners at HKG look forward to the opportunities this transaction provides for each of our team members to grow and develop their careers as part of Weaver," Gronroos said in a statement. "We also believe the expanded services Weaver offers, especially from a transaction advisory services perspective, will add value to our existing client relationships."

Last November, Weaver merged in PRM CPAs + Advisors, a firm in Lafayette, Louisiana and Houston, effective Nov. 1, 2022. Last March, Weaver expanded its presence in New York City by adding Levine & Seltzer. In December 2021, Weaver expanded to Los Angeles by adding accounting and advisory firm PJ LLP.

Porte Brown, a Regional Leader based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, has merged with RVG Partners LLC, effective June 1.

The merger will add over $4 million in billings and more than 20 new employees to Porte Brown, including one new partner. The firm's total revenue will be $39.2 million, and it will have 23 partners and 140 staff members, up from $35.2 million before the deals. Porte Brown ranked No. 22 on Accounting Today's Regional Leaders list of the Top Firms in the Great Lakes region.

The professionals from RVG, now operating under the Porte Brown name, will continue to service clients from their location in Oak Brook, Illinois.

"We are thrilled to announce our merger with RVG Partners and welcome their talented team into our organization," said Porte Brown CEO and managing partner Joseph Gleba in a statement Thursday. "Their expertise and experience in the profession complements our service offerings and will provide additional value to our clients."

RVG Partners dates back to 1999 and provides accounting, auditing, reviews and compilations, business succession planning, financial forecasts and projections, and tax and consulting services for individuals and business clients. 

"As the accounting industry continues to evolve and become more complex, this partnership will allow us to stay ahead of the curve and provide our clients with the best possible service," said RVG Partners managing member Steve Remy in a statement. "We look forward to this exciting new chapter in our firm's history."

Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin was principal advisor on the deal. "Porte Brown continues to expand in the greater Chicago market, and I would anticipate we will see more firms and talented laterals joining them in the future," he said in a statement. "In Chicago, they have definitely strengthened their position as a Top 20 CPA firm. They are blessed to have a great culture with outstanding leadership and have become a 'destination place' for outstanding talent."

Back in 2016, Porte Brown expanded its presence in the Chicago area by merging in Borhart Spellmeyer & Company LLC, a firm based in the suburb of Elgin.

HW&Co., a Regional Leader firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, merged in ECS Billing & Consulting South, Inc. (d.b.a. ECS Solutions), a provider of billing, revenue cycle management and consulting services to the skilled nursing, home health and hospice markets.  

As part of the deal, over 30 employees from ECS Consulting will join HW&Co.'s approximately 120 professionals serving clients across Ohio and the United States. ECS's Dublin, Ohio location will become HW&Co.'s sixth office, joining two offices in Cleveland, along with Columbus, Mansfield and Willoughby. HW&Co. has 24 principals.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. HW&Co. ranked No. 38 on Accounting Today's 2023 list of Regional Leaders for the Great Lakes region with $21 million in annual revenue. HW&Co. CEO Brandon Miller predicts the firm will have $23 million in revenue this year.

"Under our health care department, we have a specialty on revenue cycle billing," Miller told Accounting Today. "That's billing for senior living facilities. We have about eight or nine individuals in that revenue cycle billing consulting area, and we had some conversations with another company that does very similar services that has great name recognition in that same space. And that is ECS Solutions. They have 30-plus employees that do revenue cycle billing consulting. We were looking for expansion of that revenue cycle billing service that we had been providing to clients."

ECS Solutions was founded in 1993 by ECS president Cindy Dunne's mother, Elaine Hunt. "When thinking about what was next for ECS, we wanted to partner with a firm with similar values in how it treats its people and serves its clients," Dunne said in a statement. "HW&Co. fits that bill for us. Having been in the industry together for over 25 years, we feel a great deal of comfort and confidence in teaming up with HW&Co, knowing that we can be stronger together. Combining our operations will allow us to continue to grow and provide the highest level of service and quality."

Dunne approached HW&Co. about combining the firms. "She was looking at it more from an approach of how she's growing and getting bigger," said Miller. "As we all do, you need the infrastructure, and there's a lot of complexities these days, whether it be IT, HR, and various operational type questions that need to be addressed and answered, as you become larger and larger. Our firm, with the size that we have, has significant infrastructure for growth. We specialize in that area as well. By combining, with ECS Solutions coming under the HW umbrella, both of us are going to be able to provide better client services, more depth of resources, and a significant bench of employees and staff. It's really going to vault us into additional expansion into this revenue cycle billing service area, not only in Ohio, but they actually service clients in Michigan, Indiana, Florida and it's going to allow us further expansion throughout the country to provide this revenue cycle billing service."

In 2021, HW&Co. merged in the Shealy Group, based in Mansfield, Ohio, and in 2020 it added Finkler & Co. CPAs, a firm based in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.

"Our strategy with M&A is really relationship driven," said Miller. "We've done three mergers since 2020. With this one, it was probably eight or nine months of conversation. We really go through a thorough due diligence process and conversations, and we really only want quality individuals coming into our firm. It's really strategic who we bring in and make sure it's the right fit."