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TRANSACT IONS WEIDLINGER ASSOCIATES AND THORNTON TOMASETTI MERGE Thornton Tomasetti Inc. and Weidlinger Associates Inc. , two of the world’s most respected engineering firms, have merged. The deal cre- ates a leader in engineering innovation covering a broad range of investigation, analysis, and design services. The combined firm will have 1,200 employees operating in 34 cities internationally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The new firm will operate under the Thornton Tomasetti name and will remain headquartered in New York City, with offices at the current 51 Madison Ave. and 40 Wall St. locations. Three practices continue to be marketed with the Weidlinger brand where it carries strong industry recognition: Weidlinger Applied Science, Weidlinger Protective Design, and Weidlinger Transportation. The combined firm’s 10 practices allow it to deliver a broader range and higher level of service to its clients. It will also be better positioned to capitalize on its geographic reach and diverse talent pool, while providing growth opportunities for its employees. Thomas Scarangello continues as chairman and CEO of the combined companies, with Raymond Daddazio joining Robert DeScenza as co-president. Daddazio and two other Weidlinger board members, Grant McCullagh and Tod Rittenhouse, join the 11-person Thornton Tomasetti board of directors. “Combining our firms brings together two highly respected and recognized talent pools, creating significantly greater potential for growth and innovation than either firm could achieve alone,” Scarangello said. “Both our cultures have a ‘one firm’ approach, bringing the best qualified team to bear on any challenge presented by any client. Our more diverse merged expertise allows us to address a wider range of client needs, while offering enhanced breadth and depth of services and extended geographic reach.” “Just as important as our complementary suite of services and geographic footprints is our compatible cultures,” Daddazio said. “While no two firms are exactly alike, ours bear many similarities – including the drive for innovation, long-standing entrepreneurial spirits, and shared values in philanthropy, employee enrichment, embracing challenges, and a desire to make lasting contributions. We’re also different enough in ways that our combination will inspire us to think and work in new and exciting ways.” Thornton Tomasetti benefits from the well-established Weidlinger practices that add technical depth, new geographic presence, and market advantage to the company’s existing practices and markets. In addition, Weidlinger brings long-standing ties as a government contractor in the U.S. and U.K. Weidlinger benefits from expanding its geographic reach, market access and project diversity, and access to a robust platform for innovation and growth. Weidlinger’s Applied Science and R&D development teams complement Thornton Tomasetti’s CORE studio and R&D initiatives, and accelerate the firm’s ability to innovate. The Applied Science team also deepens Thornton Tomasetti’s analytical offerings across all its design and forensic services. To incubate, develop, and market product and service innovation, the firm will establish an R&D holding company.

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38 West Trenton Blvd., Suite 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Andrea Bennett | Managing Editor abennett@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor sparkman@zweiggroup.com Megan Halbert | Design Assistant mhalbert@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent lsullivan@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Correspondent rmassey@zweiggroup.com

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

company is more interested in the people who work for you than they are you. Once you sell your company, odds are you will either be less motivated or out. So the people who work for you are extremely critical to a buyer! 5)Have a named successor. Who specifically will take over your business? Who is ready to run it? It is crucial to you and to any buyer that someone is ready to assume the top job. 6)Clean up your books. Get all your personal stuff out of the company. If your office is leased from you, are you overcharging for it? Do you have a condo or boat on the books that the company is paying for? Is Mom getting a paycheck but not showing up for work? Get all this stuff off the books; buyers don’t want to see it. 7)Have good accounting. This is so critical. We work for buyers and find sellers who can’t even give us a balance sheet or any kind of profit and loss statement that wasn’t scratched together in a spreadsheet. Audited financials are best. Reviewed are second- best. Accountant-prepared compilations are third-best. 8)Clean up your office. Don’t have a dump! Buyers will surely want to see your work- place. Clean the carpet. Empty the spare offices of the old furniture piled up in there. Toss the old magazines in the lobby. Change the light bulbs. Clean the kitchen. MARK ZWEIG is founder and CEO of Zweig Group. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 5, 2015, ISSUE 1122

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