Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Sept. 24, 2002) -- Birmingham, Ala.-based Tidwell, Mason and Thomas Cos. and Tuscaloosa-based DeWitt & Dyer have joined forces to form Tidwell DeWitt.
The combined firm boasts revenues of roughly $2.5 million, 8 partners and about 35 employees, according to David Barker, partner in charge of accounting and audit and operations officer for the Tuscaloosa office. The firm, which maintains offices in both cities, serves clients ranging from $250,000 to $100 million in revenue.
Barker said the union was a natural fit for the two firms, which both had specialties in trucking, construction, professional services firms, business valuations and mergers and acquisitions. "It made sense for our clients," he said. "Merging gave us the opportunity to better serve our clients and prospective clients from a depth and talent standpoint, since together we have more people with a greater range of expertise."
"The overall strength between the two firms was that we were like-minded and culturally similar companies," said Bryan Finison, partner in charge of consulting and the merger coordinator. Finison noted that the firms worked together on joint projects for two years. "In essence, we already had an alliance, so we had already worked out a lot of the cultural issues. The merger was a matter of working out the operational issues."
DeWitt & Dyer partner and chief executive Ray Dyer serves as CEO of the combined firm. Barry Tidwell, CEO and chairman of Tidwell Mason, and Thomas and Ken DeWitt, chairman of DeWitt & Dyer, serve as co-chairs of the new entity.
-- Melissa Klein
