Savant Capital Management continues to strike deals this year, this time agreeing to acquire an advisory with over $100 million in assets under management.
The fast-growing RIA seized on an opening to solidify its presence in the booming metro Washington, D.C., market with its agreement for the Corcoran Group, a financial advisory firm in Bethesda, Md., specializing in working with senior level corporate executives. Corcoran's $100 million-plus in boosts Savant's AUM to over $4.5 billion.
"The D.C. metro area is a hot market," says Savant Chief Executive Brent Brodeski. "We've been in McLean, Va., for three years and we see a lot of opportunities in the market. Adding the Corcoran Group gives us the chance to grow McLean into a very serious beachhead there."
Corcoran President Phil Corcoran, a veteran of more than 25 years in the advisory business, will head Savant's McLean offices. The deal is expected to close at the end of September.
SIXTH DEAL IN THREE YEARS
The deal will be Savant's sixth in a little over three years and third this year. Savant acquired McLean-based the Monitor Group in June 2012 and added Orion Capital Management, based in the affluent Chicago suburb of Winnetka, in May. In January, Savant acquired Green, Plagge & Shaw, a St. Charles, Ill.-based, accounting, tax and payroll firm.
Deal terms for the Corcoran Group acquisition were typical for Savant, according to Brodeski: a combination of cash, notes and equity based on a valuation of a multiple of EBITDA, in addition to incentives earn-outs for the principals based on business growth.
Savant is fast approaching $1 billion in assets in the D.C. market, Brodeski says, and he believes the firm can triple that amount in five to seven years. Several more deals in the market in "the next few years" are also a distinct possibility, he adds.
"M&A is a key part of our growth strategy," Brodeski explains. "You make an acquisition to acquire top talent, to move into a new market and to expand into an existing market. In this case we also acquired new capabilities enabling us to serve corporate executives. Phil and [Corcoran vice president] Joel Cundick are subject matter experts and we will be able to build and expand on their expertise to market to that client niche nationally."
The move also helps Savant tackle succession planning issues, Brodeski says. Cundick, the junior partner at Corcoran, "expands our next generation talent in the McLean office," he explains.
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