Finward Bancorp 8K

First Financial Bancorp. agreed to acquire Finward Bancorp in an approximately $208 million all-stock transaction to expand its Chicago and northwest Indiana banking footprint, expected to close in Q4 2026.

On July 21, 2026, First Financial Bancorp. and Finward Bancorp jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for First Financial to acquire Finward, the holding company for Peoples Bank, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $208 million, under which each Finward share will be converted into 1.35 shares of First Financial common stock. The deal will significantly expand First Financial’s presence in the northwest Indiana and greater Chicagoland markets by adding Finward’s 24 locations and low-cost core deposit franchise, increasing First Financial’s pro forma Chicago-area deposits by roughly 75% to over $4 billion. Finward currently has about $2.0 billion in assets, $1.7 billion in deposits, $1.5 billion in loans and $412 million in assets under management, and its consumer, trust/wealth management, and commercial credit operations will be integrated into First Financial’s corresponding lines of business, with Peoples Bank employees becoming First Financial associates. The merger, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, is expected to be approximately 5% accretive to First Financial’s earnings per share, with an estimated 0.4% tangible book value dilution and a projected tangible book value earnback period of 0.6 years, and is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and Finward shareholder approval.

Filing Facts

CIK

919864

Ticker

-

Form

8K

Source Type

sec

Accession

0001193125-26-310388

Alert Tier

8