BKD to absorb 2,000-client Chicago company

BKD LLP is slated to absorb a big player in the Chicago accounting market Nov. 1.

The Springfield-based certified public accounting firm penned a deal to acquire Wolf & Co., a 2,000-client firm with services including wealth management and personal financial planning, according to a news release. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

BKD currently serves more than 200 clients in the Chicago area and operates an Illinois office in Decatur.

"This combination gives us a strong physical presence in the nation’s third-largest market, where we have been looking to get on the ground for several years," BKD CEO Ted Dickman said in the release.

The acquisition agreement brings 140 new employees, including 18 partners, into BKD's ranks. Wolf Managing Partner Russell Romanelli joins BKD as managing partner of BKD Chicago.

Including Wolf & Co., BKD will have 34 offices in 15 states and $475 million in annual revenue, as well as 2,250 employees and over 260 partners, according to the release.

On Inside Public Accounting's 2014 list of the top accounting firms in the country by net revenue, released in August, BKD ranked No. 12 with $445.3 million in revenue. No. 11-ranked CohnReznick LLP of New York recorded revenue of $508.2 million, according to the list.

The Wolf & Co. acquisition announcement comes three days after BKD said it purchased Pantego, Texas-based loan review services company Kacinski & Associates Inc. in early September.[[In-content Ad]]