The merged business will be co-led by KPMG’s national head of restructuring services Matthew Woods and Ferrier Hodgson Practice leader James Stewart, with 27 partners and more than 200 specialists across Australia.
Under the terms of the deal, KPMG Australia will acquire Ferrier Hodgson’s business located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with discussions with the Adelaide office well underway. Ferrier Hodgson was first established in 1976.
The deal, set to be completed by 30 June 2019, will create one of Australia’s largest restructuring services and forensic advisory businesses.
“The rationale for a merger was compelling, with KMPG and Ferrier Hodgson a great fit strategically and culturally. The combination of our operations with Ferrier Hodgson will immediately and significantly strengthen the breadth and level of service we can offer our clients in the restructuring and forensic advisory sphere,” said KPMG chief executive Gary Wingrove.
“Traditionally, KPMG has always focused on the turnaround and restructuring side of the practice, which has enjoyed sound growth year-on-year for the past five years. But we haven’t had the capacity to meet the market opportunity – until now. This merger builds great scale and capability, quickly, making us a highly competitive force,”
Mr Stewart welcomed the merger and said it would give the firm access to greater resources.
“Strategically, the merger gives our team immediate access to a diverse range of skill sets to better engineer operational turnaround and add a lot more value to clients,” said Mr Stewart.
“This is something we were already building organically through our Azurium consulting business but the merger represents a step-change in our capability, allowing us to respond to market demand for more holistic solutions to financial stress and organisational change.”
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