Top 100 Firm McGladrey LLP has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Fesnak LLP in Philadelphia.
Fesnak has been serving clients for more than 10 years with physical locations in Blue Bell, Penn. and New York, N.Y. The firm is made up of eight partners and 90 client service professionals who will join McGladrey, including Bob Fesnak and Lisa McLemore who will assume roles on McGladrey’s Philadelphia leadership team. They will join McGladrey’s more than 250 people working in four area offices — Blue Bell, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Moorestown, New Jersey.
“McGladrey’s vision is to be the first-choice advisor to middle market leaders,” McGladrey’s managing partner Joe Adams said in a statement. “To achieve this, we need to have scale and highly relevant service offerings in the locations where middle market companies operate. We are pleased to join forces with Fesnak, LLP to increase our presence in Philadelphia. This firm is an outstanding strategic and cultural fit for McGladrey and will enhance our ability to serve clients in this key market."
“Fesnak has been tremendously successful and we are proud of the firm we have built,” Fesnak’s managing partner Bob Fesnak said in a statement. “We are taking an important next step in our strategic growth plan by joining forces with McGladrey. We have done well in our niche for years and we believe that becoming a part of McGladrey will secure our future for the long term to benefit our clients and our employees. Culturally, our firms are very similar. We share a client-centric approach to doing business and we focus on building enduring, trusted relationships with our clients. Both firms also share a strong commitment to supporting the communities where our employees live and work.”
This transaction is part of McGladrey’s location strategy to grow its presence and enhance service offerings in existing markets, while also entering new strategic markets where middle market businesses operate. In December 2013, McGladrey joined forces with Margolis Phipps and Wright PC to establish a Houston office, and earlier this year, it enhanced its Ohio presence through a transaction with Battelle Rippe Kingston and added an office in Oklahoma City through a transaction with Cole + Reed.
“Our goal is to expand the number of McGladrey offices in the U.S.,” said Jim Kadavy, national leader for mergers and acquisitions. “We are thrilled to have joined forces with so many outstanding firms in the last year, and we look forward to continuing to grow through mergers and acquisitions in the year ahead. The most important qualities in a firm for McGladrey are strategic and cultural fit, as well as having a presence in locations where we want to add scale, introduce new service offerings or establish a presence. We are seeking firms that share our client-centric focus, commitment to understanding client needs and aspirations, and longstanding reputation for client service excellence.”
