Kjelstrup & Wiggen Råd og revisjon

RSM Hasner and Kjelstrup & Wiggen to merge

The board of directors in the auditing firms RSM Hasner AS and Kjelstrup & Wiggen AS have agreed to merge the two firms in order to take advantage of new opportunities in the market for auditing and consultancy services.

The name of the new company will be RSM Hasner, Kjelstrup & Wiggen.

• The merger is expected to strengthen the market position within auditing, and especially within consultancy services.
• The new company will be a major player in the Oslo area with a total of 90 employees located in a new office space.
• Synergies are expected in the form of increased competence, improved client capacity, new services and increased attractiveness to recruit the best students.
• The new company will continue its membership in RSM International, the world's sixth largest network of independent accounting and consulting firms.
• The merger is expected to be formally implemented on 1 August 2012.

RSM Hasner and Kjelstrup & Wiggen is today, respectively, Norway’s eighth and ninth largest auditing and consulting businesses. The new company will be the sixth largest player in the Oslo area. The two companies complement each other very well, and together will the new company be able to offer better and more services.

The merger allows the new company to strengthen its position compared to other players in the industry within auditing and consultancy services, and thus become more attractive for larger customers.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for two of the most recognized players in the industry. This will create new growth opportunities and pave the way in order to challenge the competitors in terms of customer focus and service offerings. RSM Hasner has many similarities with Kjelstrup & Wiggen, and is by far the best player in the industry to team up with to lay the foundation for the future", says chairman Per-Henning Lie in Kjelstrup & Wiggen.

"This is a very exciting merger which will benefit all stakeholders, and the new company will have expertise and capacity to a greater extent than before to cover the services the customers are demanding. We will continue to be a medium-sized auditing firm and will therefore continue to focus on the SMB market and emphasize fast and personal service - combined with high competence. The major difference is the synergy effects by combining the companies, especially in consultancy services, which both large and medium-sized customers are increasingly demanding", says managing director Lars Løyning in RSM Hasner.

The way forward
The companies have started the search for new premises in Oslo to unite all employees under one roof. Relocation is expected to be implemented in the third quarter of 2012.

Current managing director of RSM Hasner, Lars Løyning, will become the CEO, while chairman Per-Henning Lie in Kjelstrup & Wiggen will continue as the chairman of the new company.

The new company will continually assess the need to strengthen its workforce.

About the companies
Kjelstrup & Wiggen was formed in 1990 and currently has 41 employees, and has its offices in Henrik Ibsen's gate 20. The activities in RSM Hasner started in 1945 and the company currently holds 49 employees with offices in Vollsveien 13 at Lysaker. The companies had in 2011 a combined turnover of around NOK 125 million.

RSM International is a worldwide network of independent auditing and consulting firms. RSM is represented in 90 countries with over 700 offices and 32,500 employees. RSM is ranked # 6 of the international auditing and consulting networks.

Contacts
For further information please contact:

Lars Løyning
Telephone: +47 91 65 32 71
E-mail: Lars.Loyning@rsmhasner.no

Per-Henning Lie
Telephone: +47 91 32 30 49
E-mail: Per.Henning.Lie@k-w.no