Tax consultancy Andersen announces launch of IPO

Andersen, a San Francisco-headquartered tax consulting firm, on Monday announced the launch of the roadshow for its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

The year-end IPO will offer 11 million shares of Class A common stock at a price of between $14 and $16. The tax consultancy has been approved to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ANDG.”

Andersen, which has approximately 2,200 employees, will target a valuation of up to $1.75 billion.

Morgan Stanley and UBS will act as lead book-running managers for the proposed IPO.

After Big 5 accountancy Arthur Andersen dissolved in 2002 in the aftermath of its involvement in the accounting fraud of Enron, several former tax practice partners formed Wealth & Tax Advisory Services (WTAS) as a subsidiary of HSBC USA. In December 2007 a management buyout made WTAS an independent firm.

Judging there to be an adequate distance from the radioactivity of the Arthur Andersen/Enron scandal, WTAS rebranded to Andersen Tax in 2014 and further simplified the brand to Andersen in 2019.

Andersen provides tax, accounting, valuation, and private client services to individuals and companies in the United States.