NEW YORK, 1 April — An agreement has been reached between Andersen Middle East and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), described as the world’s leading professional accounting and financial services firm, on merger of their operations in the Middle East, according to an undisclosed credible source in the United States.
The merger is aimed at producing the largest audit and financial consulting firm in the region. Prior to the merger, Andersen Middle East held the leading position in the region.
Both sides following extensive negotiations that took place over the past few weeks have reached an agreement. This accord comes after Andersen Worldwide and KPMG announced their intention to merge their operations outside the United States with the exception of Andersen’s practices in China, Hong Kong, Russia and Australia, which have already announced plans to merge with other accounting international firms.
Andersen Middle East’s decision to merge its practice with PricewaterhouseCoopers comes as a result of comprehensive evaluations by the two firms of their operations, markets and client requirements in the region.
The agreement will produce the largest professional service firm in the Middle East a position that was already held by Andersen in the region in terms of audit and financial consulting revenues.
The resulting merger with PricewaterhouseCoopers will produce the largest firm of its kind in the Middle East and the rest of the world. A position, which was previously held by both firms leaving the competition far behind both on a regional and worldwide level.
