Mercantile Bank and Firstbank jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Mercantile and Firstbank will merge to create one of the largest banking institutions headquartered in Michigan.

This implies a transaction value per share of $18.77 or approximately $151.5 million in the aggregate based upon Mercantile’s closing price of $18.77 as of August 14, 2013.

Based on financial results as of June 30, 2013, the combined company would have total assets of $2.8 billion, deposits of $2.3 billion and loans of $2 billion. The merger is expected to create the third largest bank headquartered in Michigan by market capitalization and by deposit market share.

“I am extremely pleased to announce the combination of these two great Michigan community banks,” said Michael Price, chief executive officer of Mercantile. “This is an exciting opportunity for our customers, our shareholders and our employees to create the premier Michigan community banking franchise.”

Thomas Sullivan, chief executive officer of Firstbank, added: “We are very excited to become partners with Mercantile, as our similar cultures and complementary geographies and service strengths make this transaction a natural fit. We see great opportunity in combining to create a bank with enormous potential for future success.”

To read the entire news release, click here.