One hundred and twenty-five staff and 24 partners from top 300 accounting firm Apple Growth Partners will join Fargo, ND-based Eide Bailly on June 24, expanding the top 20 firm’s footprint across the Great Lakes region.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

The acquisition is Eide Bailly’s second largest in its over 100-year history, according to the firm, and marks Eide Bailly’s first offices east of the Mississippi as it enters the Ohio market.

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Apple Growth Partners has offices in in Akron, Cleveland, and Canton, OH, as well as locations in Schaumburg, IL, and Charlotte, NC.

Jeremy Hauk

“AGP has a strong workplace culture and a commitment to authenticity, exceptional service, and taking care of each other,” Eide Bailly Managing Partner and CEO Jeremy Hauk said in a statement. “It was evident from our initial meeting with the AGP leadership that they would be a great addition. We both talked about culture, our people, and our clients. We could tell immediately that both firms really meant what we said and would be a great fit.”

Founded in 1943, Apple Growth Partners offers a full range of accounting and advisory services for privately held businesses, including tax planning and compliance, audit and assurance, business valuation, litigation consulting, employee stock ownership plans, fraud prevention and detection, family office services for high-net-worth individuals, and transaction advisory.

The firm also provides expertise in additional industries and services, such as employee benefit plans, bookkeeping, auto dealerships, manufacturing, construction and real estate, car washes, restaurants, and not-for-profits.

“Our goals have not changed, but the world has. Staying a regional firm would not allow us to remain competitive, and our employees and clients deserve the best. Joining forces with Eide Bailly was an easy decision because we share the same values, especially in how we take care of each other and our clients,” said Apple Growth Partners Chairman Chuck Mullen. “Eide Bailly sets itself apart with its business and technology expertise and unparalleled culture. We’re thrilled this union will allow us to stay true to our current culture while also providing new opportunities for collaboration, additional resources for our clients, and expanded benefits and opportunities for our staff.”

Since July, Eide Bailly has also merged in Phoenix CPA and tax planning firm Secore & Niedzialek, Seattle CPA firm King & Oliason, and California accounting firms Bessolo Haworth and Raimondo Pettit. In addition, Eide Bailly added San Diego-based full-service CPA firm RBTK late last year and merged in Sioux Falls, SD-based technology solutions company High Plains Technology this past January.