CohnReznick announced the expansion of its Value360 practice’s strategic lifecycle solutions with the establishment of a dedicated Merger Integration and Carve-out Services practice. Delivering on its commitment to drive value creation for financial sponsors, investors, and business owners, the firm has brought on a senior-level team to expand solutions in M&A due diligence, merger integrations, carve-outs, synergy value delivery, performance improvement, and transformation.
David McKee has joined the firm as Merger Integration and Carve-out Services practice leader along with David Morris, Managing Director, and four senior core team members. David and his team come to CohnReznick with decades of M&A experience advising corporate and private equity clients from Big 4 and other leading M&A advisory firms.
McKee has more than 25 years advising financial sponsors and corporate clients on strategic buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions including carve-outs and integrations, performance improvement, and complex transformation programs. He has supported more than 200 transactions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific ranging from $50 million carve-outs to $10 billion cross-border mergers. In addition, McKee has advised clients across a variety of industries including food & beverage, industrial manufacturing, business services, technology, insurance, and healthcare. Prior to joining CohnReznick, McKee held M&A advisory leadership roles at a major advisory, assurance, and tax firm as well as at private equity focused financial and technology firm. He earned a BA in Business Administration from Birmingham Southern College.
Morris has more than 20 years of experience providing merger integration, carve-out, and transaction due diligence advisory services to private equity and corporate clients. He has supported 100s of transactions globally in industries including distribution, healthcare and medical devices, insurance, and industrial manufacturing. Morris’s M&A integration and carve-out experience includes leadership roles at a major advisory, assurance, and tax firm and at multiple private equity focused financial and technology firms. He also has previous experience as a banker performing senior secured credit due diligence and underwriting and bankruptcy restructuring for a legacy airline. Morris earned an MBA in Finance, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from Michigan State University.
McKee and Morris are joined by a core team of senior M&A professionals who share many years of working together at previous firms including Dave Asher, Director; Paul Johnson, Director; Geoff Orland, Director; and Nathan Pearson, Director who bring deep M&A operations and technology diligence and execution experience.
“Creating value throughout the deal lifecycle is the core of our Value360 practice at CohnReznick. By establishing this dedicated integration and carve-out practice, we are expanding and adding depth to our capabilities not only in the pre-deal phase, but also post-close as well. M&A is a tremendous opportunity for clients to create value, but it is also fraught with risk. Providing experienced deal leadership and hands-on execution capabilities, in addition to financial capabilities, will help our clients achieve their deal thesis and maximize investor returns,” said Claudine Cohen, Managing Principal of CohnReznick’s Value360 practice.
Adds Margaret Shanley, CohnReznick Transaction Advisory Services Practice Leader, “Adding David McKee, David Morris, and their highly experienced team to our firm is an incredible highlight for our practice. We are bringing decades of additional strategic M&A experience to our clients so we can continue to provide best-in-class solutions and industry expertise to private equity, independent sponsors, strategic corporate investors, and business owners as they navigate the life cycle of a buy- or sell-side transaction.”
The Merger Integration and Carve-outs team will collaborate closely with Jeff Wissink, Principal who was recently named as the firm’s Performance Improvement practice leader, as well as with the firm’s other advisory and industry practices. CohnReznick’s cross-functional and integrated teams will allow clients to benefit from a multifaceted approach to deal execution, value creation, risk management, and operational excellence.