MNP expands Atlantic Canada presence with two acquisitions

MNP, a mid-market accounting and consulting firm, has acquired two professional services firms in Sydney, Nova Scotia – MGM & Associates Chartered Professional Accountants and Jennings March Chartered Professional Accountants. The transaction, effective February 1, 2020, strengthens MNP’s presence and capabilities in the Cape Breton and Nova Scotia marketplaces.

MNP was primarily a Western Canadian firm prior to the last decade, but made a strategic decision to expand coast-to-coast. The firm entered the Ontario market in 2008, and has since then grown to more than 25 locations in Eastern Canada. MNP then entered the Nova Scotia market in 2017 with the acquisition of WBLI, a Halifax-area accountancy with 11 partners and 70 staff.

"Nova Scotia offers a stable and diverse economy that is particularly strong in the agriculture, private enterprise, credit union, real estate and construction, government, education, and tourism sectors; all of which MNP is already intimately serving," Kirk Higgins, MNP's regional managing partner for Atlantic Canada, said.

The acquisition of the Sydney firms demonstrates MNP’s commitment to supporting organizations in Atlantic Canada, according to a release from the firm.

MGM is the larger of the two firms, with 28 staff offering services in auditing, accounting, taxation, insolvency, bankruptcy, and business consulting. The firm serves clients ranging from small businesses to corporations and large public institutions. The firm’s partners are Sonny MacDougall, Sheila Gillis, Darren Chiasson.

Jennings March is a boutique professional accounting firm offering tax and accounting services to businesses in Cape Breton. The firm is led by partner Gary Jennings.

Both the MGM and Jennings March team will remain in their current offices in Sydney, working closely with MNP’s teams in Dartmouth and Truro.

"MNP complements and enhances our current service offerings and brings greater bench strength to help us service organizations in and around Sydney and the Cape Breton Region Municipality (CBRM),” said MGM’s Sonny MacDougall. “By joining MNP we will add more resources, more specialized services, and a range of new experiences, all of which will help to provide our clients with even greater value in the future."

The Calgary-headquartered firm currently has 5,000 employees across more than 80 locations in Canada, and provides a broad array of accounting and business consulting services to clients in a range of industries.

"This merger is truly a win-win for all of our firms and the Nova Scotia marketplace," Higgins added. "As the largest firm in the Sydney market we will be able to provide our clients with unparalleled access to teams who can help their organizations to succeed. We are thrilled to have found the perfect firms to join forces with - teams who put clients first."

Earlier this month, MNP acquired Mobilis Strategic Advisors, a Montreal-based strategy consulting firm.