M&A Watch

MICHIGAN

Croskey Lanni merges in Hirzel Jackson & Swaine

Details: Detroit-area firms Croskey Lanni and Hirzel Jackson & Swaine are combining forces. The merger will create a combined firm with more than 30 associates serving a local, regional and national client base.

The partners and staff of HJS will remain in their offices in Novi, Mich., but the combined firm will operate under the name of Croskey Lanni, which is based in Rochester, Mich. HJS principals Ben Swaine and Dick Shovan will continue with the firm, managing client services.

Croskey Lanni has 27 team members. The firm had annual revenues in excess of $4 million before the merger and is projecting approximately $4.5 million post-merger, according to Croskey Lanni president David Croskey. The new Novi office that was formerly HJS's location has five team members, who are all joining the combined team.

M&A consulting firm Transition Advisors assisted in the transaction. Financial details were not disclosed.

 

MINNESOTA

Zabel and Sampair combine

Details: Todd A. Zabel, of Zabel & Co. LLC, and James W. Sampair, of Sampair CPA, have merged their firms to become Zabel Sampair LLC. The firm specializes in providing tax, accounting, systems and consulting services to individuals and closely held businesses. They are located just north of St. Paul.

 

NEW JERSEY

Rothstein Kass combines with JDJ Resources

Details: Top 100 firm Rothstein Kass has added the Boston-based team of JDJ Resources Corp. to its family office group. JDJ's partners, Doreen Biebusch, James Kittler and Steven Sarcione joined Rothstein Kass as directors, and 13 other team members also followed.

The addition of the JDJ team fits in line with Rothstein Kass's goal to expand its family offices throughout key growth markets. The firm added to its San Francisco location when it merged with HC Associates in March. Rothstein Kass plans to continue to bolster its presence in Boston, Beverly Hills, Calif., Dallas, Denver, New York and San Francisco.

 

NEW YORK

Fuoco Group merges in AIB Forensics

Details: Long Island-based accounting firm Fuoco Group has merged in AIB Forensics to create a new forensics division and expand the firm's footprint beyond the Northeast. As a result of the merger, the firm is forming Fuoco Fraud & Forensics LLC, which will do business as Fuoco Forensics, a division of Fuoco Group. Financial details were not disclosed.

The new division will focus on analyzing, interpreting, summarizing and presenting complex financial and business-related disputes resulting from legal proceedings, financial investigations, and mediation. Alan I. Blass will be joining Fuoco Group as director within the new forensics division.

The merger with AIB Forensics is expected to expand Fuoco Group's forensic accounting and litigation support services beyond its current focus in the Metropolitan New York area and the Northeast to the Southeast, especially Florida. The transaction took effect on August 1.

 

OHIO

Skoda Minotti merges in Gerald M. Appel

Details: Skoda Minotti has merged in the Cleveland tax firm Gerald M. Appel, CPA Inc., expanding its tax practice.

Appel and his team will join Skoda Minotti's tax planning and prep department. Financial terms were not disclosed. Skoda Minotti earned approximately $20.3 million in revenue last year. Appel's firm earned a little under $1 million in annual revenue, according to Ken Haffey, partner-in-charge of consulting services at Skoda Minotti. Besides Appel, two other members of his five-member firm will be joining him at Skoda. One of the other members plans to retire and another is looking to move to a different firm. The merger took effect on July 1.

So far this year, Skoda Minotti has acquired several firms. Haffey anticipates announcing a deal in the next few weeks. "Right now, we're finalizing something else that's a nice size," he told Accounting Today. "We're in significant conversations with a few other firms in our market and not in our market."

 

TEXAS

MFR, TRG join forces

Details: Accounting and consulting firm MFR PC, announced that it merged with the Houston-based health care advisory firm, The Romans Group. Together, the two have formed MFR Healthcare Solutions Inc., which will serve the international health care market.

MFR Healthcare Solutions will provide strategic and operational planning to hospitals, universities, medical institutions and health care providers. The new entity will not operate as a CPA firm. Instead, it will provide a range of services, including assessment and evaluation, IT infrastructure, financial modeling, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. The combination took effect on August 1 and the new unit will be led by Romans Group founder Juanita Romans.

 

WEST VIRGINIA

Local accounting firms unite

Details: Hayflich & Steinberg PLLC, of Huntington, and Grigoraci, Paterno & Associates, of Charleston, have agreed to become one. The two firms will take on the new name Hayflich Grigoraci PLLC and will remain in the cities where their offices are headquartered.

Hayflich & Steinberg has approximately 35 employees, who will remain with the firm. Grigoraci, Paterno & Associates' 14 staff members will also stay on board. In addition, the firm plans to launch a new Web site reflecting the newly combined firm before the end of the year.

Prior to the merger, the two firms were members of the BDO Seidman Alliance. The combined firm will remain a member of the association.

 

Arnett & Foster and Toothman Rice merge

Details: Arnett & Foster PLLC, of Charleston, and Toothman Rice PLLC of Bridgeport, have merged. The firms joined forces on August 1, and will change their name to Arnett Foster Toothman PLLC at a later time.

Steven Robey, managing partner of Arnett & Foster, said in a statement that Toothman Rice will give Arnett & Foster, which specializes in health care, banking and tax services, access to the construction and oil and gas sectors. The new firm will have 140 employees in its Charleston, Bridgeport, Morgantown, Buckhannon and Lewisburg offices, and in Columbus, Ohio.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Financial reporting M&A
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY