Intertrust Group Holding S.A. (“Intertrust”) has announced that it has reached agreement with Walkers Global on the acquisition of its subsidiary Walkers Management Services (“WMS”), a leading provider of corporate, company secretarial and fiduciary services.
Walkers Management Services provides corporate, fiduciary and company secretarial services from the world’s leading financial centres – the Cayman Islands, Delaware (USA), Dubai, Dublin (Ireland), Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. Headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands, WMS currently generates annual sales in excess of US$ 50 million. WMS management is committed to stay with Intertrust Group post integration.
Intertrust is a recognized global quality leader in the trust and corporate services sector, providing a broad range of commercial, legal, tax and administrative services to multinational corporations and high net worth individuals. As a combined group, Intertrust will operate with more than 1,100 people from 30 offices in 21 countries. Intertrust combines global reach with local knowledge and cultural understanding to serve international clients from every corner of the world. The acquisition of WMS reinforces Intertrust’s successful acquisition strategy, aimed at extending its expertise and global capabilities in light of ongoing globalization and clients’ increasingly complex needs.
Commenting on the transaction, David de Buck, CEO of Intertrust Group, said:
‘Walkers Management Services has a strong international position in the corporate services industry; providing high quality services to top-tier clients that will benefit from Intertrust’s capabilities to service them across the globe. Through the acquisition we gain a market leading position in the Cayman Islands, one of the most important financial centres in the world, and we further expand our global network by adding offices in Dubai, Delaware and the British Virgin Islands. Walkers’ quality, experience, heritage and ambitious approach to servicing clients mirror the Intertrust culture. We look forward to working with the Walkers Management Services team and enjoying further success based on our joint capabilities.’
Nancy Lewis, CEO of WMS, added:
‘We very much look forward to joining Intertrust Group. We share a drive for quality and experience in working for the world’s most sophisticated clients. Our combined network of offices will deliver a strong foundation for further growth of our business; bringing us a sound position in all key international business locations across Asia, Europe and the Americas. This platform will allow us to provide even greater global solutions for our clients.’
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the coming months. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.
KPMG today announced its acquisition of the U.S. assets of Thomson Reuters Corporation’s (TRI) widely respected ONESOURCE® Indirect Tax Managed Services business.
The service will become part of KPMG’s Indirect Tax Compliance Services, which is part of the U.S. firm’s existing State and Local Tax (SALT) practice and KPMG’s Global Indirect Tax Service offering provided by KPMG member firms throughout the world. KPMG will maintain an ongoing relationship with Thomson Reuters through the continued use of Thomson Reuters’ underlying technology to power these U.S.-based services.
“This acquisition brings the market-leading technology, content and skilled professionals of the ONESOURCE Indirect Tax Managed Services business of Thomson Reuters together with KPMG’s demonstrated ability to manage the complex, evolving landscape for indirect tax in the U.S. and globally,” said John B. Veihmeyer, Chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.
“We’re giving our clients a ‘one-stop shop’ with superior expertise, scale and a comprehensive approach to indirect tax management and service,” Veihmeyer added.
“The acquisition underscores the benefits of KPMG’s growth strategy, in which the U.S. firm and other member firms focus on organic and inorganic opportunities to enhance their ability to serve clients with market-leading resources,” Veihmeyer said. “This strategy reflects our decision to invest in the future for our own long term success – and to better serve the emerging and future needs of our audit, tax and advisory clients.”
“The global expansion of business, and the concurrent global shift to indirect taxation, has moved indirect taxes beyond the traditional U.S. realm of the state sales and use tax model to include value added taxes (VAT), goods and services taxes (GST), excise taxes, transfer taxes, and more. Companies of every size from the Fortune 100 to the Mid-Market must now comply with increasingly complex regulations and correctly report their tax positions to a range of authorities globally – or face financial, reputational and trading consequences if they come up short.”
“Our team of KPMG professionals, augmented by the newly acquired and highly skilled ONESOURCE Indirect Tax Managed Services team, will bring a new dimension to how companies can effectively manage their increasingly complex indirect tax processes, risks and controls,” said P. Scott Ozanus, vice chair and head of Tax Services for KPMG in the U.S.
“The acquisition also enables us to provide our clients with the enhanced outsourcing and indirect tax managed services and support that can help them effectively manage their indirect tax obligations,” Ozanus said.
Niall Campbell, KPMG Global Head of Indirect Tax Services, said, “The shift to indirect taxation continues to change the global tax landscape, making it critical that businesses operating internationally have greater confidence in how they comply. This important acquisition by KPMG in the U.S., together with the continued strong growth of the network’s indirect tax capability globally, provides KPMG member firm clients with a global network of professionals who can deliver the full range of indirect tax compliance, advisory and related services the current environment demands.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Thomson Reuters said it had announced to customers in December 2011 that it intended to divest this unit to KPMG.
The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has acquired Dr Tax, Canada’s largest independently owned developer of income tax software for accounting firms and consumers.
“Thomson Reuters has deep roots in Canada and decades of experience as a technology leader serving the tax and accounting profession. We’re excited to enter the tax and accounting software market in Canada – and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Dr Tax,” said Jon Baron, president of the professional unit within the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters.
“Dr Tax has nearly a quarter century of experience in the Canadian tax sector, excellent customer relationships, and popular, easy-to-use applications,” Baron said. “Combining our strengths will bring real value to customers.”
Dr Tax is known in Canada for its DT MAX tax compliance software, used by more than 3,000 Canadian accounting firms, and for its UFile and ImpôtExpert consumer software lines, which are sold online and through retail outlets. The company is headquartered in, and will continue to operate from, Montreal.
Thomson Reuters will retain Dr Tax’s product lines and facilities after the acquisition. “Customers should expect the same exemplary products they are accustomed to, managed by the same development team and supported by the same customer service team,” Baron said. “For Dr Tax customers, it will be business as usual.”
“This is good news for Dr Tax customers and employees, because Thomson Reuters delivers sophisticated technology, innovative products, and a focus on customers’ needs” said Malcolm Campbell, vice president & general manager, Dr Tax Software Inc. “As we contemplated our future in the tax software market, we decided it was in the best interest of our customers to join with a company that can provide the resources to take our offerings to the next level.”
Financial terms of the acquisition are not being released.
Smith & Williamson has acquired the trade and assets of BTG Tax LLP, which is a member of Begbies Traynor Group Plc.
As a result of the acquisition, Smith & Williamson will have an annual fee income of circa £180million and take on an additional 55 staff, including 12 partners. This means the enlarged firm will employ almost 300 tax professionals across all offices and generate income of about £40million from its tax business. Smith & Williamson is the ninth1 largest firm of accountants in the UK.
The incoming team includes private and corporate tax professionals with particular strength in tax investigations consultancy and the sports, media and entertainment sectors.
Commenting on the acquisition, Kevin Stopps, Managing Director of Tax & Business Services at Smith & Williamson said:
“We are delighted that such an experienced tax team is joining us; there is an excellent strategic fit between the new team and Smith & Williamson, both in terms of geography and service provision.”
Following the acquisition, Smith & Williamson’s Birmingham office will grow through the addition of about 30 tax professionals. The arrangement also means that Smith & Williamson will, for the first time, have an office in Manchester. The firm will also provide tax advice from Jersey and Cyprus.
Kevin continued: “The incoming Birmingham tax professionals will be working alongside our existing investment management team. This combination of tax and investment advice will significantly enhance the services offered by Smith & Williamson to clients in the Midlands and helps to set us apart from others.”
The enlarged Birmingham office will have a headcount of over 50 people and in addition to the strong combination of investment management and tax, offers pensions and financial planning advice.
The 13-strong Manchester team joining Smith & Williamson includes private client and corporate tax experts as well as senior staff who advise on tax investigations.
Smith & Williamson includes an investment management business with about £11 billion funds under management and advice (as at 30.09.11), making it one of the largest private client investment managers in the UK.
