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Midland States enters agreement to acquire Centrue bank group

EFFINGHAM — Midland States Bancorp, Inc., whose banks include many in Central and Southern Illinois, and Centrue Financial Corp. this week entered into a definitive agreement under which Midland will acquire Centrue for $175.1 million, or $26.75 per share of Centrue common stock.

Midland expects the transaction to be 8 percent to 9 percent accretive to earnings per share in 2018, the first full year of combined operations. An accretive acquisition is an acquisition that typically increases the acquiring company’s earnings per share.

Centrue Financial Corp., the parent company of Centrue Bank, is headquartered in Ottawa, Ill., and had total assets of $978 million, net loans of $677 million and total deposits of $740 million as of Dec. 31.

Established in 1874, Centrue is a regional, full-service community bank offering commercial, retail and mortgage banking services. Centrue has 20 bank branches located principally in northern Illinois and has a top 5 deposit market share in Kankakee and LaSalle Counties. It also has a location in St. Louis.

Leon J. Holschbach, president and chief executive officer of Midland, commented, “Centrue has built a highly attractive franchise through a commitment to superior customer service and being deeply invested in the success of the communities it serves. Having competed against Centrue in our northern Illinois markets for many years, we are very familiar with their franchise and believe they will be an excellent cultural fit with Midland. Indeed, Kurt Stevenson and I have known each other going way back and he has done an excellent job at Centrue. With $978 million in assets, Centrue will add significant scale to our operations, provide meaningful opportunities to enhance our overall efficiencies, and increase our earnings power. We look forward to welcoming the customers, employees and shareholders of Centrue to the Midland family.”

Kurt R. Stevenson, president and CEO of Centrue, said, “Midland is an excellent merger partner for Centrue and the combination of our two companies will create an exceptionally strong community banking franchise with more than $4 billion in total assets. As part of a larger financial institution with deeper resources, this transaction will significantly improve our ability to serve the needs of our customers, who will benefit from having access to a wider selection of financial products and services. Moreover, we will have an improved ability to accommodate the growth of our commercial banking relationships by offering increased borrowing capacity.”

One of the anticipated benefits of the transaction includes greater penetration of key markets in northern Illinois and adding to Midland’s already significant St. Louis MSA presence.

The transaction is expected to close in mid-2017, subject to regulatory approvals, the approval of Centrue’s and Midland’s shareholders, and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Midland States Bancorp, Inc. is a community-based financial holding company headquartered in Effingham and is the sole shareholder of Midland States Bank. Midland had assets of approximately $3.2 billion, and its Midland Wealth Management Group had assets under administration of approximately $1.7 billion as of Dec. 31.

Midland has more than 80 locations across the United States, including several in Metro East.

      From the Illinois Business Journal

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