Forvis to acquire Mazars USA
Forvis LLP, the eighth-largest accounting and consulting firm in the United States, has signed an agreement to acquire Mazars USA LLP, the 31st-largest accounting and consulting firm in the US, effective June 1, 2024.
In addition to the US combination, Paris-headquartered Mazars Group and Forvis have signed an agreement to work together in a global alliance under the brand of Forvis Mazars.
The global network will be overseen by a new board with an equal number of partners from Forvis and Mazars. Outside the US, the two firms will remain owned by their respective partnerships and will retain their separate existing structures and profit pools.
Founded in 1945, Mazars operates as a single entity as a fully integrated partnership. The firm has more than 34,000 professionals across 95+ countries providing audit, tax, and consulting services.
Mazars expanded into the US with the 2010 acquisition of Weiser, a New York-based accountancy with 650 people at the time of the transaction. Mazars USA has annual revenue of $258 million, according to IPA, and approximately 1,120 employees.
Forvis, meanwhile, was created last year through the merger of BKD and Dixon Hughes Goodman. It has over 6,000 employees and annual revenue of $1.69 billion, according to IPA. The Springfield, MO-based firm is overwhelmingly based in the US, with small international offices in Toronto and London.
The addition of Mazars USA, though a sizeable transaction, won’t enable Forvis to jump up the rankings of the largest US CPA firms. The next largest firm, Grant Thornton, has significantly higher revenue, at $2.31 billion.
The global alliance of Forvis Mazars, however, will become a top 10 global audit and advisory network by revenue, with approximately $5 billion in annual sales.
The Forvis-Marzars USA combination continues the trend of consolidation in mid-market accounting, which includes the 2022 creation of Forvis itself. Firms have been seeking greater economies of scale as they contend with growing labor and technology costs.
BDO USA earlier this year arranged $1.3 billion in debt financing from Apollo Global Management to create an employee stock ownership plan in a bid to unlock tax advantages, attract talent, and drive M&A.
Grant Thornton US last year sold off its public sector practice to Guidehouse, while RSM’s global head in January said the network was open to merger talks.
“A two-firm network, operating under a single global brand, quickly advances our firms’ shared strategies. It's an opportunity to better serve our clients, especially those with international needs, and support our people on a path of continued growth,” said Tom Watson, CEO of Forvis.
Hervé Hélias, CEO and chairman of Mazars Group, added, “We are proud to offer our clients the strength of our international integrated partnership in 100 countries and the benefits of FORVIS’ large national partnership in the US, which truly works as one firm across the US. It gives us the scale and expanded presence that we have been striving for in the US and marks us out as a top 10 global network with extensive scale and coverage.”
