Dive Brief:

• Cincinnati-based First Financial Bancorp has agreed to buy Westfield Bancorp, based roughly 40 miles southwest of Cleveland, in a $325 million deal that would boost the acquirer’s footprint in Northeast Ohio, the lenders announced Monday.
• The transaction, set to close in the fourth quarter, would add roughly $2.2 billion to First Financial’s asset total – as well as at least seven locations, adding a retail facet to the Cincinnati lender’s commercial banking and wealth management business in the opposite corner of the Buckeye State.
• Under the deal, First Financial would pay $260 million in cash, and Westfield investors would get roughly 2.75 million shares of the Cincinnati bank, valued at about $65 million based on the 10-day volume weighted average price of First Financial from Friday.

Dive Insight:

The Westfield deal would push First Financial past the $20 billion-asset threshold. First Financial counted $18.5 billion in assets, $11.7 billion in loans, $14.2 billion in deposits and $2.5 billion in shareholders' equity as of March 31.

First Financial CEO Archie Brown touted Westfield’s commercial banking and specialty lending businesses, saying they “build upon our existing strengths.”

“This targeted expansion of our commercial, consumer, and specialty banking businesses broadens our ability to serve additional clients, and it opens up new avenues for growth and profitability in an attractive geographical area,” Brown said. “Both teams share a community-first approach, while emphasizing a positive workplace culture, which is an excellent foundation for us as we expand our banking solutions to serve more communities.”

Westfield is a subsidiary of Ohio Farmers Insurance Co. Ed Largent, Westfield’s CEO and board chair, said the decision to sell “is aligned with our strategic focus on our portfolio of property and casualty insurance businesses.”

"We're proud of what Westfield Bank has accomplished, and with First Financial's strategic priorities centered on banking, Westfield Bank is well positioned for continued growth and success," Largent said. 

The transaction is expected to be 12% accretive to First Financial's earnings, said the bank, which is set to recoup its tangible book value in less than three years.

All of Westfield’s retail locations will remain open after the deal closes, First Financial said. First Financial’s pre-acquisition network spans 127 locations in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.