Global M&A Tax Virtual Hub: Powering deals for Canadian multinationals

Whether you're regularly conducting cross-border transactions or just considering one, you can turn to the experienced global mergers and acquisitions tax team at RSM for guidance. RSM's North American tax specialists discuss new enhancements to how we deliver local and global insight every step of the way.

The Global M&A Tax Virtual Hub creates a new experience for middle market businesses by delivering real-time market insights and innovative ideas directly from M&A tax professionals in Hong Kong, Mexico, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, who are now dedicating their time to Canadian multinational clients.

RSM’s M&A tax specialists are continually reimagining how to help clients navigate dynamic and complex tax landscapes.

“The Global M&A Tax Virtual Hub enhances our service delivery model for M&A tax,” says Vikas Sekhri, who heads the program for North America in addition to his role as RSM US M&A tax services leader. “It complements existing North American and global M&A tax team members as part of a single, virtually connected team, dedicated exclusively to serving our North American and global clients on cross-border transactions. We believe this initiative further demonstrates our commitment to being the first-choice advisor to middle market leaders globally.”

Private equity dealmakers looking to expand globally can rely on this ideally positioned team to facilitate conversations and keep transactions moving despite COVID-19 travel restrictions and in light of the many issues that affect current and future tax considerations at a regional and global level.

"We are providing clients with access to mission critical information on a variety of tax topics—from those as broad as Brexit to specific transaction issues pertaining to a particular jurisdiction—and helping them understand what that means so they can make informed business decisions in a timely manner," says Stephen Rupnarain, M&A tax leader for RSM Canada. "The hub will deliver the power of being understood to our clients by serving as a one-stop solution for complex international M&A tax issues."

The hub takes shape

The hub deepens our involvement in tax issues across the geographic spectrum. Focusing our talents and efforts around critical needs of the market is at the core of the program, says Mitch Siegel, cross-border M&A leader and operations leader for the Hub.

“We are the largest global M&A practice for the middle market in North America with significant M&A resources in 120 countries,” Siegel says. “This provides our clients with the opportunity to engage all of those resources to attack issues in the jurisdictions where they’re pursuing new deals.”

What does it mean to be a virtual hub?

The RSM network has a streamlined process for communicating efficiently between offices in multiple jurisdictions around the world resulting in coordinated teams that deliver, says Michael Joseph, a member of the hub leadership team, but the hub takes that to the next level for our multinational clients, who now have even easier access to these global resources.

"The real advantage to our clients is they have a central point of contact to manage the tax teams located around the world. The result is that clients know they have someone reliable who is responsive, efficient and who will get back to them with the answers they need when they need them," says Joseph, who coordinates hub interactions for Canadian clients. "Often, clients find it difficult, time consuming and inefficient to deal with advisors in multiple jurisdictions where there may be different ways of doing business. With the hub, you have a standardized process to project manage a transaction effectively from start to finish."

A world of knowledge at your fingertips

RSM Canada's earliest clients utilizing the hub have seen it improve their relationships and reduce the stress of cross-border communications.

"The hub is critical because it ensures that everyone in a given market will serve Canadian clients in the way they expect to be treated," Rupnarain says. "The cross-cultural benefits simply from knowledge sharing and management of service delivery expectations will address a critical choke point for many internationally active Canadian-based clients."