Ohio-based Civista Bancshares agreed to acquire United Community Bancorp and its subsidiary United Community Bank in a deal valued at approximately $114.4 million. Based on financial data as of December 31, 2017, the combined company would have total assets of $2.1 billion, total loans of $1.5 billion and total deposits of $1.7 billion.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, the consideration United shareholders will receive is equivalent to 1.027 shares of Civista common stock and $2.54 in cash per share of United common stock. The transaction is expected to close in Q3/18, subject to the required regulatory and shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions.
Upon closing, three existing United directors will join the Civista Bank board of directors and two of those directors will join the Civista Bancshares board of directors. E.G. McLaughlin is expected to be one of the directors to join both boards. Michael McLaughlin, United’s chief operating officer, will be named market executive and Mark Sams, United’s chief credit officer, will continue to lead the commercial lending efforts in the market.
Under the proposed merger terms, the acquisition of United is expected to be immediately accretive to Civista’s earnings in 2018 and thereafter.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Civista and we are very excited to welcome United’s customers and employees to the Civista family,” said Dennis G. Shaffer, CEO and president of Civista Bancshares. “United, including its two predecessors, has maintained a strong and stable presence in their local communities for over 100 years. We look forward to collaborating with United’s leadership team to grow and enhance their banking platform while maintaining strong ties to their community.”
Sandler O’Neill + Partners acted as financial advisor to Civista while Tucker Ellis acted as its legal advisor in the transaction. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods acted as financial advisor to United, with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton serving as its legal advisor.
