Wauwatosa-based accounting and business consulting firm Wipfli LLP has acquired Oakland, California-based health care consulting company HFS Consultants. The transaction was completed August 1 for an undisclosed price.
All 70 of HFS’ employees have been retained at the company’s three full-service offices in California. HFS’ five shareholders will become partners at Wipfli, said Rick Dreher, managing partner of Wipfli. Its marketing division, The Placemaking Group, has also joined Wipfli. HFS offers financial, strategic, clinical and management operations consulting to hundreds of hospitals and health care facilities nationwide.
Wipfli now has more than 1,600 employees, about 150 of whom are in Milwaukee. The combined company has 38 offices in the U.S. and India, and 192 partners.
Wipfli has an existing health care practice, but wanted to augment its capabilities quickly, which made the acquisition attractive, Dreher said. This also expands Wipfli’s reach on the west coast.
“We were looking to combine for the opportunities in the health care space,” he said. “We are really excited about their client base and their expertise and our client base and our expertise and we think putting the organizations together allows us to reach a much bigger cross section of clients and offer more and additional services.”
Wipfli also in January acquired Northbrook, Illinois-based accounting firm Steinberg Advisors, adding 50 additional employees.
