Reconnecting with Barnes Dennig Helps Company Reclaim Its Identity
Tax Strategies & Construction Industry Experience Key to a Strong Start
He’d made up his mind. It was time to buy his company back.
That company was TP Mechanical, a plumbing and mechanical design and installation business with locations in three states. The company had previously merged with a national conglomerate. Now, its former president and CEO summoned the members of his management team. Would they be interested in buying out their division and reclaiming their independence?
They said yes.
The challenge
The division needed an outside accounting firm to review its newly drafted purchase proposal. The controller’s recommendation? Barnes Dennig, the firm that had done the company’s financial statement, audits, and tax consulting work before its merger. (The conglomerate it merged with, by contrast, used large international accounting firms for all its audits and taxes.)
Examining the initial transaction, Barnes Dennig’s tax team saw its structure would have major tax consequences for TP Mechanical – and set out to find a solution.
The strategy
Barnes Dennig suggested dividing the arrangement into different layers of ownership for the actual working business entity — a strategy that substantially reduced shareholders’ tax burden. The team also reduced TP Mechanical’s tax burden by suggesting it change a few positions on contractor claim-related allocations of the purchase price.
The results
The deal went through quickly, and the company finalized its new ownership. The controller was thrilled. “Barnes Dennig led us through that transition period, and they developed some really good tax-savings ideas and suggestions. They got us where we are today,” he said. He asked Barnes Dennig to provide his company’s accounting, audit, and tax services, just as it had before.
“If we wanted to compare the auditors we’ve worked with over the past few years, Barnes Dennig asks the good, solid construction practice-related questions that the other firms just didn’t have a clue about,” said the controller. ”Barnes Dennig professionals ask questions that only industry experts would know to ask.”
About Barnes Dennig
Barnes Dennig is a Certified Public Accounting and consulting firm serving businesses and organizations in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. We offer tax, accounting, auditing, business consulting, and business advisory services to help our clients make the most of every financial opportunity.
Learn more about Barnes Dennig and the industries we serve.
Got questions? Contact us.
About TP Mechanical Contractors
TP Mechanical Contractors provides commercial and industrial markets with design/build and plan & spec mechanical contracting services, such as plumbing, HVAC piping, sheet metal, specialty and process piping, fire protection, maintenance, and service contracts.
The company’s commercial customers include medical and pharmaceutical companies, office buildings and towers, distribution centers and warehouses, hotels and motels, research and development laboratories, multi-family residential complexes, light commercial facilities, retail-entertainment-recreational buildings, universities and colleges, and institutional facilities. Its industrial customers include water treatment plants, petro-chemical factories, pulp and paper mills, steel and aluminum processors, foundries, food and beverage manufacturers, and specialty plants and mills.
TP Mechanical employs about 500 people at locations in Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Louisville. For more information, visit the website or call 513.851.8881.