Peoples Bancorp to Buy Four Wis. Branches from FirstMerit

Peoples Bancorp in Prairie Du Chien, Wis., has agreed to buy four branches in Wisconsin from FirstMerit.

The $647 million-asset Peoples is buying the real estate, loans and deposits associated with the branches, it said Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase is expected to close in July.

The four branches held $69 million in deposits as of June 30, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The branches are in the Grant County communities of Lancaster, Fennimore, Dickeyville and Potosi.

Mark Forsythe, president of Peoples State Bank, and Rob Townsend, a FirstMerit spokesman, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The $26 billion-asset FirstMerit, of Akron, Ohio, announced in January that it had agreed to be sold to the $71 billion-asset Huntington Bancshares in Columbus, Ohio, for $3.4 billion. Huntington previously disclosed plans to shut more than 100 branches in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania after the deal closes, including 77 FirstMerit branches.

Peoples Bancorp operates 14 branches of Peoples State Bank in Wisconsin and Iowa.

Edelman & Co. was financial adviser to Peoples on the deal. Boardman & Clark was legal counsel.

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