Wipfli and Eide Bailly call off merger

Wauwatosa-based public accounting firm Wipfli LLP and Eide Bailly of Fargo, N.D., said they have called off their plan to merge and open a corporate headquarters in Minneapolis.
Executives of Wauwatosa-based Wipfli and Eide Bailly of Fargo, N.D., announced that they have mutually agreed to end discussions to merge the two accounting firms.
The merger plan, which was announced Jan. 6, would have created the 15th-largest accounting firm in the nation.
Instead, the companies decided not to proceed with the plan and will continue to operate as separate CPA firms.
Eide Bailly managing partner and CEO Jerry Topp and Wipfli managing partner and CEO Rick Dreher said the firms decided to amicably discontinue merger discussions, because they could not come to an agreement on key terms.
“We have tremendous respect for Eide Bailly, its partners and staff,” said Dreher. “In the end, each firm decided it was more appropriate to remain independent.”
Topp said, “Wipfli and Eide Bailly are two very successful firms serving distinct markets. We were friendly competitors before, and we will continue to be friendly competitors in the marketplace as we move forward.”