M&A roundup: UHY, Sax and Clayton & McKervey expand
Sax LLP, a Top 100 Firm based in Parsippany, New Jersey, has merged in Schall & Ashenfarb CPAs, a firm based in New York City, effective Jan. 1, 2023.
The deal represents Sax’s fourth M&A deal in New York City since last year and expands the firm’s nonprofit practice.
Schall & Ashenfarb has been offering accounting services to nonprofit organizations in the Tristate area for over 30 years. Its clients include health and welfare organizations, arts and cultural institutions, and education organizations such as charter schools, private foundations, international organizations and religious institutions.
“We are delighted to join the team at Sax LLP and provide our clients with additional resources and specialties that smaller firms do not possess,” said Schall & Ashenfarb partner David Ashenfarb in a statement Friday. “Sax recognizes the excellent service we provide to our many clients and is dedicated to helping us maintain that high quality of work and responsiveness we are known for. We expect a seamless merge of cultures and service philosophies, which was an important component when working to identify the partner that will take our S&A team to the next level.”
Sax ranked No. 87 on Accounting Today’s 2022 list of the Top 100 Firms. The firm earned $83 million in revenue last year and its projected 2023 revenues are $93 million. The firm has 53 partners, two senior advisors and 271 employees. Schall & Ashenfarb had $6.5 million in annual revenue last year and will add three partners and 18 employees to Sax.
The deal bolsters Sax’s nonprofit practice after three earlier M&A deals in the past year in New York, but the latest deal is the biggest of the four. Last year, Sax added David Weiss CPA LLC, Steven Press, and KMR LLP. As a result of the recent spate of deals, Sax has added a total of eight partners, two senior advisors, one director and 40 employees to its team. (From the David Weiss merger, two partners, one senior advisor and 15 employees joined Sax, and their firm had previously earned $5.5 million in annual revenue. From the Steven Press acquisition, one partner and one employee joined Sax, and their firm had earned $700,000 in revenue. From the KMR merger, two partners, one senior advisor and seven employees joined Sax, and their firm had earned $5.1 million in annual revenue.)
“Completing four mergers in six months has been no easy feat for our firm,” said Sax LLP CEO and managing partner Joseph Damiano in a statement. “While expanding through strategic partnerships is a consistent growth goal we strive for, the most important factor is finding firms that align with our values and can easily fold into our operations. We were fortunate to come across Schall & Ashenfarb CPAs in our search. They are truly dedicated to their principles of professionalism, responsiveness, and quality which is demonstrated in the results they deliver and their reputation in the region. We are excited to welcome them to our firm and accomplish great things together.”
The merger between Sax and Schall & Ashenfarb was brokered by Robert Fligel of RF Resources. Sax now has three offices in New York and New Jersey, along with one international office in Mumbai, India and a remote team spanning 17 states and two countries.
