Overview

• The boards of First Financial Bancorp and BankFinancial unanimously approved the all-stock merger valued at about $142 million.
• Under the agreement, BankFinancial shareholders will receive 0.48 shares of First Financial for each share held, implying around $11.37 per BankFinancial share.
• The deal adds 18 retail branches across Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties and contributes about $1.4 billion in assets, $1.2 billion in deposits and $800 million in loans to First Financial.
• First Financial will retain BankFinancial employees, rebrand the acquired branches and integrate BankFinancial’s consumer, trust and selected commercial lines while targeting 45 percent of BankFinancial’s annual operating expenses in cost savings.
• It also plans to sell BankFinancial’s $500 million multifamily loan portfolio to bolster liquidity ahead of a fourth-quarter 2025 closing pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.