KPMG pips Deloitte, PwC to acquire M&A tax team of BMR Advisors

Industry:    2017-07-21

Days after Deloitte bought BMR Advisors’ corporate tax team; KPMG on Thursday acquired the boutique firm’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and risk team.

As part of the transaction, 10 partners including Rohit Berry and Vivek Gupta from BMR’s deals team, Sanjay Mehta (as an advisor) and Sarabjeet Singh from the risk team are set to join KPMG. More than 100 executives from the boutique tax firm would move to KPMG by the end of July.

According to people in the know, Deloitte and PwC were in race to acquire the M&A tax team. Talks were on with Deloitte after the BMR direct and indirect tax teams moved to Deloitte on Monday. But finally, the BMR partners opted for KPMG, a person in the know said.

ET had reported on July 16 that Deloitte, KPMG & PwC were in a close race to acquire different teams of BMR Advisors. BMR founding partners — Bobby Parikh and Mukesh Butani — were not part of any discussions. Sources said Parikh will most likely retire after the transaction and Butani will set up an independent law practice. Third founding partner of BMR Rajeev Dimri is set to join KPMG.

KPMG pips Deloitte, PwC to acquire M&A tax team of BMR Advisors
As part of the deal, Rohit Berry will be the deputy head of deal advisory at KPMG and ace deal maker Vivek Gupta will head the KPMG M&A tax practice. KPMG’s M&A tax team, co-headed by Punit Shah, has gone through some turbulent times. Shah quit KPMG in 2015 to join Dhruva Advisors, another boutique firm founded by well-known tax expert Dinesh Kanabar.
BMR was one of the biggest and most profitable tax boutique firms with revenue of close to Rs 250 crore. In last two years, some of its partners were picked up by the big four. Even under intense competition BMR was profitable and had an envious clientele.

BMR was started in 2004 by ex-Arthur Andersen partners Bobby Parikh, Mukesh Butani and Rajeev Dimri, who had moved out of Big Four firm EY. The trio along with others had joined EY after Arthur Andersen wound up in 2001-02 in the wake of the Enron collapse. Under Bobby Parikh’s leadership, Andersen was India’s fastest growing and most profitable accounting firm.

Sources say the BMR partners have been offered up to 30% jump in their current salaries and a 100% of increased salary as joining bonus amount over and above their remuneration.
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