First Merchants Completes Arlington Acquisition

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First Merchants Corp. (Nasdaq: FRME) has completed its more than $82 million acquisition of Ohio-based The Arlington Bank. The Muncie-based bank plans to complete the integration of The Arlington Bank under the First Merchants brand during the third quarter.

First Merchants says, due to the acquisition, it now has 108 banking centers in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio with about $7.6 billion in assets. As part of the deal, The Arlington Bank shareholders will receive 2.7245 shares of First Merchants common stock for each share of Arlington common stock they own. 

"We are pleased that this merger received overwhelming approval by The Arlington Bank shareholders," said Michael Rechin, chief executive officer of First Merchants. "The merger will add three locations to our seven banking centers in Columbus, Ohio, one of the fastest growing markets in the country. With the legal aspects of the merger behind us, we can exclusively focus our attention on taking care of our clients."

First Merchants says Thomas Westfall, president of The Arlington Bank, will continue in a leadership role with the bank to assist with the transition and growth goals in the Columbus market.