Accountancy Margolin, Winer & Evens agrees to be acquired by Baker Tilly

Long Island-based accountancy Margolin, Winer & Evens, which had spurned a string of suitors, has agreed to be acquired by Chicago-based Baker Tilly.

The deal, announced earlier this month, followed a nine-month courtship, executives said.

Financial terms of the deal, expected to close on Nov. 1, were not disclosed.

The deal joins Margolin, Winer & Evens' 130 employees with Baker Tilly's roughly 250 employees in the New York metropolitan area.

Margolin, Winer & Evens is based at RXR Plaza in Uniondale. That office, first occupied in 2020, is expected to remain open, said Craig Savell, managing partner at Margolin, Winer & Evens, who will become Baker Tilly's managing partner for the New York market.

Savell said that Margolin, Winer & Evens was courted by other large firms, but the Baker Tilly team was deemed to be a better fit.

"There was a steady progression of people who approached us," he said, including major national firms.

Baker Tilly was ranked the ninth largest U.S. accounting firm with $1 billion in net revenue, according to the 2021 Inside Public Accounting Top 100.

Seventy-five-year-old Margolin, Winer & Evens had revenue of $36 million in 2020.

Jeff Ferro, Baker Tilly managing partner Eastern and Central U.S., said the acquisition strengthens in the firm's presence in the New York metropolitan area.

"It clearly moves us up," he said.

Ferro said Margolin, Winer & Evens' "deep roots" in the New York market were "incredibly attractive" to Baker Tilly.

Savell said Margolin, Winer & Evens primarily serves privately held companies and provides business and personal-planning services to their owners.

The accounting firm's strengths include real estate, manufacturing and distribution, he said.

Allan D. Koltin, who provides consulting services to accounting firms, advised both companies.

Margolin, Winer & Evens was "highly sought after by a number of firms," he said in a statement, "but they chose Baker Tilly because of the clarity and compelling nature of their vision."

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.