Civista Bancshares to acquire The Farmers Savings Bank

Civista Bancshares (CIVB) and The Farmers Savings Bank signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Civista will acquire Farmers. As of March 31, 2025, the combined company would have total assets of approximately $4.4B, total net loans of approximately $3.2B and total deposits of approximately $3.5B. The acquisition of Farmers will add two branches in Medina and Lorain Counties in Northeast Ohio, as well as approximately $183M in low-cost core deposits. As of March 31, 2025, Farmers reported total assets of $285M and net loans of $104M. Civista agreed to pay $34.925M in cash and issue 1,434,491 common shares, in aggregate, for all of Farmers shares outstanding, subject to potential adjustment based on Farmers’ equity prior to closing being $56.0M. This implies an aggregate deal value of approximately $70.4M. The transaction is expected to close in Q4, subject to the required approval of the Farmers shareholders, receipt of all required regulatory approvals and fulfillment of other customary closing conditions. The directors and other key shareholders of Farmers have agreed to vote all Farmers shares that they own in favor of the merger. The acquisition of Farmers is expected to be approximately 10% accretive to Civista’s diluted EPS once anticipated cost savings are fully phased-in.