M&A roundup: EY, CLA, Wipfli and Avantax expand

May 1, 2024 5:08 PM

Ernst & Young acquired Nuvalence; CliftonLarsonAllen bought Ronald Blue; Wipfli added Harbour Results; and Avantax acquired Integrated Tax & Wealth Strategies' wealth management business.

EY acquires Nuvalence

Hall + Merrick Photographers

Ernst & Young has acquired Nuvalence, an AI technology consulting firm based in Albany, New York, to accelerate delivery of generative AI-enabled services to organizations.

Together, EY and Nuvalence plan to help clients leverage GenAI to augment their core business functions, while venturing into new models powered by AI. Nuvalence brings EY US a team of over 140 engineers, product managers and architects from across the U.S., Canada and Colombia.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. EY, based in New York, ranked No. 3 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $21.46 billion in annual revenue and around 3,700 partners and 55.900 employees last year before recent layoffs.

"We are thrilled to welcome Nuvalence," said Raj Sharma, vice chair of EY Americas Consulting, in a statement Monday. "EY US has tremendous strength in providing robust solutions for the AI-enabled future with technology at the center. With the addition of this team, we have increased our engineering capabilities to provide clients with state-of-the-art AI platforms and products that will bring their AI vision to reality."

Nuvalence has previously built AI technology to enable a large automaker to centralize its digital fleet management.

"Nuvalence has always applied our deep technical expertise to some of the hardest problems our clients face as they transform themselves into platform and AI-centric organizations," said Nuvalence managing partner Rakesh Malhotra in a statement. "We are incredibly excited to continue and scale this mission as part of EY US."

Last year, EY acquired Tallan, a New York-based technology solutions company, to join EY US's Microsoft Services Group. The firm later canceled plans to spin off its global consulting practice into a publicly traded company.

CLA buys Ronald Blue

CLA's Irvine office

Top 10 firm CliftonLarsonAllen has acquired Ronald Blue and Co, a tax, audit and accounting firm with offices in Atlanta; Tempe, Arizona; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Santa Ana, California, effective May 1.

Ronald Blue's approximately 80 employees and eight partners will join CLA's network of nearly 9,000 professionals, including over 1,200 principals and signing directors, in providing personalized wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax and consulting services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CLA ranked No. 8 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $2 billion in annual revenue.

Founded in 1979, Ronald Blue and Co.'s client base includes musicians, entertainers and professional athletes, in addition to nonprofit clients and privately held businesses.

"Becoming part of CLA is a tremendous opportunity not only for the entire team at Ronald Blue & Co. CPAs, but for the thousands of clients who rely on our specialized services," said David Hogan, CPA, managing partner of Ronald Blue & Co. CPAs, in a statement Wednesday. "We have similar values and share a common focus on serving families, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. And now, with access to the entire CLA national footprint, we can bring even more resources to bear for our clients."

CLA has more than 130 offices across the country, along with its CLA Global network.

"We are excited to welcome Ronald Blue & Co. CPAs into the CLA family," said Scott Engelbrecht, chief geographic officer for CLA, in a statement. "CLA continues to look for opportunities to have exceptional firms like this join us and grow our overall portfolio. Their mix of nonprofit and privately-held business clients align with the type of clients we currently serve on a daily basis at CLA."

Last September, CLA acquired Richard, Witt & Charles in Garden City, New York; Frost & Co. in Tacoma, Washington; and Gilmore Jasion Mahler in Toledo and Findlay, Ohio. In 2022, CLA did a number of mergers and acquisitions, including with Hayashi Wayland in Salinas, California, Concannon Miller in Florida and Pennsylvania, and Price CPAs in Nashville, Tennessee.

Wipfli adds Harbour Results

Wipfli LLP, a Top 25 Firm based in Milwaukee, has agreed to acquire Harbour Results, a business management consulting firm in Southfield, Michigan, that specializes in manufacturing clients. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wipfli ranked No, 22 on Accounting Today's 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $546.4 million in annual revenue in fiscal year 2023, 288 partners and principals, and 3,222 associates. Wipfli is bringing two partners aboard from Harbour Results, along with 12 other associates.

"We're looking forward to expanding our client base — and services — in manufacturing," said Wipfli managing partner Kurt Gresens in a statement Wednesday. "We're also excited to deepen Wipfli's ties in Michigan. The state's strong business climate and manufacturing foundation make it an exciting geographic area for us to expand in."

Harbour Results provides benchmarking, assessments, strategic development and operational improvements to more than 60 clients, joining the 60,000 at Wipfli. Its proprietary benchmarking service delivers strategy and operations data for manufacturers.

"Harbour Results' expertise and track record in benchmarking and forecasting will help us provide more insights and perspectives to our clients," said Wipfli growth leader Brian Blaha in a statement. "Today's modern market is increasingly complex. Together, we'll be able to cut through the chaos and deliver targeted strategies and solutions."

Harbour Results was founded 15 years ago by president and CEO Laurie Harbour and COO Scott Walton, who are the two partners now joining Wipfli.

"Wipfli's culture of service and innovation aligns well with Harbour Results' passion for revitalizing the manufacturing industry," Harbour said in a statement. "Just like Wipfli, we're dedicated to giving 100% to our clients and associates."

Last year, Wipfli acquired the risk management and loan review services divisions of Sheshunoff Consulting + Solutions in Austin, Texas, and added Clayton & McKervey, a firm based in Southfield, Michigan that specializes in automotive and technology clients. In 2022, Wipfli acquired Oliver Group, a firm based in Louisville, Kentucky, and a pair of data analytics and application development companies, Solve100 and Waypoint Consulting, in Arkansas. In 2021, Wipfli merged in Mueller Prost, a Regional Leader headquartered in St. Louis, and Hughes & Co. in Denver.

Avantax acquires Integrated Tax & Wealth Strategies wealth management business

Avantax, a tax-focused financial planning and wealth management firm, has acquired the wealth management business of Houston-based Integrated Tax & Wealth Strategies, one of Avantax's largest affiliates, with $760 million in total client assets.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, including revenue figures. Avantax has more than 3,000 financial professionals as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Integrated Tax & Wealth Strategies founder Brian Stephens will continue with the tax practice while the firm's six other financial advisors and wealth management team members have become W-2 investment adviser representatives of Avantax Planning Partners. "I've seen several other advisors align with Avantax Planning Partners, and while I looked at various options even outside of Avantax, I realized that other broker-dealers don't understand our business model where tax preparation is such a key component of the investment relationship," Stephens said in a statement Wednesday. "I feel Avantax is the right answer because they are 100% aligned with my belief that the best solution for clients is to keep investment and tax preparation tied together."

Stephens' wealth team, including Matt Murch, Joseph Webster, Sabrina Pledger, Amy Villarreal, Kyle Pledger and Cheryl Wright, have joined Avantax as employees.

"Brian's ability to expand his business, create growth opportunities for his team, and provide excellent service to his clients is exemplary," said Avantax Wealth Management president Todd Mackay in a statement. This new relationship between Brian and Avantax is a natural fit. We are eager to see Brian and his team continue growing the integrated tax and wealth management business with Avantax as we focus on further strengthening their already powerful client relationships."

The financial planning firm Cetera acquired Avantax for approximately $1.2 billion last September. Avantax was formerly known as Blucora, which rebranded as Avantax after Blucora sold off its TaxAct tax preparation software to a private equity firm in 2022 to focus instead on its Avantax financial planning and wealth management business. Blucora created Avantax Wealth Management in 2019 after acquiring HD Vest and 1st Global, two financial planning firms that partnered with CPA firms around the country to offer wealth management services, and combining them under the Avantax name.