Deloitte Tax Sells Corptax Business

Deloitte Tax LLP announced an agreement to sell its Corptax software unit to MLM Information Services LLC. About 1,000 corporations and partnerships use the tax software.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies said that they expect the acquisition to close within the next 60 days.

In a statement, the companies said that the business units included in the transaction -- Deloitte & Touche Tax Technologies LLC and Tax Technology Services -- would maintain their facilities in Dallas, Deerfield, Ill., and Woodland Hills, Calif. After the sale is complete, Deloitte Tax will be licensed to use all of the Corptax products under a long-term contract. MLM is owned by equity firms Warburg Pincus and Mason Slaine.

Deloitte Tax first acquired the Corptax business in 1996. In recent years, the unit has launched ETS, a more sophisticated version of its original income tax software, and been a player in the development efforts of the Internal Revenue Service to transition corporations to filing tax returns electronically.

Deloitte Tax said that its decision to sell the Corptax unit followed an analysis of the current regulatory environment and a review of strategic alternatives for the business.

"As part of MLM, the business will have greater flexibility to pursue new growth avenues and can offer clients the full breadth of its products and services, which is not possible in the current regulatory environment," said Deloitte Tax chairman and chief executive Chet Wood, in a statement.

Ray Lombardi, chief executive of Deloitte Tax Technologies and managing partner of National Tax Technology, said that MLM met all of Deloitte Tax's criteria for screening potential acquirers, including a recognition of the business's value, the resources to invest in new and existing products, and the commitment to support current clients and employees.

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