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Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) has agreed to acquire FNCB Bancorp (NASDAQ:FNCB) in an all-stock deal valued at about $129.0M, or $6.44 a share, the companies said Wednesday.
Upon completion of the merger, FNCB (FNCB) shareholders would receive 0.1460 shares of Peoples (PFIS) stock for each share of FNCB they own. The pro forma post-merger shareholder ownership split would be ~71% for Peoples and 29 for FNCB.
Peoples’ current CEO Craig Best will continue in that role for the combined company, which will have nearly $5.5B in assets and a market cap of ~$444M.
The transaction is projected to deliver 59% EPS accretion to Peoples (PFIS) 2025 estimated EPS and inclusive of all merger synergies, with a tangible book value earn-back period of 2.4 years. The combined bank holding company will trade under the ticker symbol “PFIS” on the Nasdaq.
Furthermore, Peoples (PFIS) plans to boost its quarterly dividend to $0.6175 per share, or to $2.47 per share on an annual basis, which will create no dilution for FNCB shareholders. Peoples’ post-closing annual cash dividend is projected to be 51%+ higher than current levels.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year.
