The Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, has directed a company operating under the name KPMG Advisory Services to change its name within six weeks due to similarities with KPMG Nigeria, a well-known professional services firm.

In a letter dated September 19, 2025, by Chidimma Nwite on behalf of the Registrar General, the CAC, said that the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583), registered on October 11, 2010, was erroneously approved despite the prior registration of KPMG Nigeria.

The commission emphasised that the directive was issued in line with Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, 2020, which prohibits the registration of names that are identical or confusingly similar to existing entities.

Failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe, the letter noted, would compel the CAC to take necessary enforcement action.

A copy of the letter was also sent to the law firm of Idowu Sofola & Co. for record purposes.

Recall that the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, had on July 10, 2025, nullified the CAC?s registration of the business name ?KPMG Professional Services.?

The nullification came after a prolonged legal battle spanning over two decades.

The decision, delivered by Justice Abdullahi Bayero, sided with KPMG Nigeria, marking a significant win in the protection of corporate brand identity in the country.

The appellate court granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against the CAC (1st respondent) and KPMG Professional Services (2nd respondent).

The crux of the court?s ruling was that the registration of the 2nd respondent?s name was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of the CAMA 1990, now updated to Section 852 of CAMA 2020.

This section prohibits the registration of names that are identical or deceptively similar to existing ones.

The saga began in 2002 when KPMG Nigeria, comprising its well-established audit, tax, and consulting arms, challenged the CAC?s decision to register a new entity bearing the name ?KPMG Professional Services.?

KPMG Nigeria argued that the newly registered name was deceptively similar and could easily mislead the public, infringing upon its long-established identity and reputation.

Initially, a Federal High Court had dismissed KPMG Nigeria?s case in 2005.

The lower court?s reasoning was based on an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte, suggesting that the plaintiff could no longer assert rights to the KPMG name.

Furthermore, the Federal High Court had upheld a counterclaim from the 2nd respondent, even going so far as to order KPMG Nigeria?s name to be struck off the register, a decision now decisively overturned.

However, the Court of Appeal scrutinised this reasoning, describing the evidence of a merger as inadequate and unsubstantiated.

Justice Bayero highlighted that newspaper articles, which were the sole basis for the lower court?s conclusion, were insufficient proof of a legal merger.

The appellate court found no evidence to suggest that KPMG Nigeria had ceased to exist or had relinquished its rights to the name.

?It is only a merger agreement that can determine the nature and scope of the purported merger. What exists here at best is a functional collaboration or partial merger of only a component, KPMG Audit and even that is not proven by binding legal documents,? Justice Bayero stated in the judgment.

The appellate court emphasised KPMG Nigeria?s historical precedence, noting that it was the first to register its business entities, including KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting. (The PUNCH)

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