Ernst & Young LLP has acquired the Tax Preparation and Court Accounting Outsourcing businesses of Thomson Reuters in the US. Approximately 175 employees will join EY.

JEGI CLARITY (www.jegiclarity.com) of New York, NY, the leading independent investment bank for the media, information, marketing, and technology sectors, represented Thomson Reuters in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.

The transaction benefits the long-term strategies of both organizations. Ernst & Young LLP and the global EY organization plan to continue growing these full–service outsourcing businesses, focusing on expanding service offerings to financial services organizations and law firms. Meanwhile, the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters will focus resources on its core software and implementation services businesses.

“This is just the latest example of EY’s commitment to offering the most advanced technology and services available to our clients,” said Kate Barton, EY Americas Vice Chair of Tax Services. “EY and Thomson Reuters share a strong cooperative relationship, working closely in connection with these outsourcing capabilities, and we will continue to be a software customer of Thomson Reuters. We have a great deal of respect for Thomson Reuters, and we’re excited about welcoming these new professionals to EY.”

The software businesses of ONESOURCE Trust Tax and ONESOURCE Trust & Estate Administration will remain with the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters.

“We are focused on delivering value to our customers and believe we can best execute through our software platform. We have determined that an accounting and consulting organization like EY can better serve our customers’ full-service outsourced tax preparation needs,” said Brian Peccarelli, President of the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. “We will continue to work closely with EY and will license our ONESOURCE Trust Tax and ONESOURCE Trust & Estate Administration software to them so that our customers have a seamless transition.”