India, July 29 -- Grant Thornton Advisors has agreed to buy accounting and advisory company CBIZ Inc. in a $5 billion cash deal. The companies announced the deal on Wednesday. After the deal is completed, the combined company will become one of the largest accounting and professional services firms in the US. The deal comes at a time when many accounting firms are getting bigger to compete with the industry's largest companies.

Under the deal, CBIZ shareholders will receive $55 for each share they own. This is 17.8% more than the company's previous closing share price, according to Reuters. It is also about 54% higher than CBIZ's average share price over the past 30 days, according to Quartz. After the announcement, CBIZ shares rose 17.5...