HBK CPAs Consultants, a Top 100 Firm based in Canfield, Ohio, has signed a merger agreement with the Spire Group, a firm based in Clark, New Jersey, expanding HBK further north.

The deal gives HBK, short for Hill, Barth King, its northernmost office in the U.S. and its latest office in the mid-Atlantic part of the country. Financial terms were not disclosed. HBK ranked 56th on Accounting Today’s list of Top 100 Firms for 2018, with $80 million in annual revenue.

The deal will add 50 employees to HBK, including five principals.

“We are pleased to welcome the Spire Group team to HBK,” said HBK Mid-Atlantic principal-in-charge, Jim Bartolomei, who made the announcement Monday. “They are a group of outstanding and accomplished professionals who will strengthen our position in the region.”

“We are excited to welcome these proven leaders to our growing team,” said HBK managing principal Christopher M. Allegretti in a statement. “The Spire Group has succeeded at building an award-winning culture and growing a highly-respected office in a very competitive market. And their successful IT practice is proof of their innovative and entrepreneurial practice style.”

Last month, HBK also added a sole practitioner CPA’s firm, Michael W. Monahan, in Sarasota, Florida.

The Spire Group came out of a 2012 merger between two New Jersey CPA and consulting firms: SGA Group of Clark, and Carr Daley Sullivan Weir of Livingston. Besides the new office in Clark, HBK also has two other offices in the Northeast, in Princeton and Cherry Hill in New Jersey and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

“The Spire Group was built on the pillars of client service, entrepreneurship and a culture that is centered around our team members’ success,” said Spire managing principal Tom Angelo in a statement. “We found those same pillars in the HBK family. We are excited to be able to bring our talents and expertise to scale collectively with the breadth and depth of HBK. Together, we will bring tremendous opportunities to our clients and our team members in the years to come.”

The Spire Group was listed among the “Top 50 Best Workplaces of 2017” by Inc. magazine, was a “Best Firms to Work For” selection for the past four years by Accounting Today, and was chosen as one of the “Best Places to Work” for the past four years by NJBIZ. Along with its tax, advisory and assurance practice, Spire runs Spire IT, a technology services consulting unit.