First Financial to acquire Tennessee bank for $73M
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Terre Haute-based First Financial Corp. has announced plans to acquire SimplyBank, headquartered in Dayton, Tennessee. The deal, expected to close next year, is valued at $73.4 million.
SimplyBank operates 13 bank branches and one loan production office in Tennessee and Georgia, and has about $702 million in assets, First Financial said Monday. As part of the deal, SimplyBank will be rebranded under the First Financial Bank umbrella.
First Financial said it will pay $718.38 per share in cash for each outstanding share of SimplyBank’s common stock.
“This acquisition is exciting for our company,” First Financial CEO Norman Lowery said in a news release. “SimplyBank provides us with an opportunity to deepen our commitment to the Tennessee market while expanding into attractive new MSAs. We look forward to continuing SimplyBank’s commitment to its customers and the communities it serves.”
First Financial operates 70 banking centers in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee under its First Financial Bank subsidiary. With the acquisition, First Financial will have an estimated $5.5 billion in combined consolidated assets, the bank said.
The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024. It remains subject to approval from SimplyBank shareholders and regulators, as well as customary closing conditions.
“We are pleased for our stakeholders, but are also delighted that our customers will continue to enjoy a great relationship with the local SimplyBank employees, as they continue working with a strong community-focused financial organization through the SimplyBank branch network,” SimplyBank CEO John Owen said. “We are excited about the stability and additional growth opportunities that our agreement with First Financial will provide.”
First Financial employs 879 people, and SimplyBank has 127 employees. A spokesperson for First Financial said in an email to Inside INdiana Business that some jobs will be eliminated, but it is unclear at this time how many that will be.
First Financial bills itself as the fifth oldest bank in the United States and the oldest bank in Indiana. The bank has been in business for more than 185 years, according to its website.