EVANSVILLE, Ind. (REUTERS) – Regional lender Old National Bancorp will buy privately held Bremer Financial in a $1.4 billion cash-and-stock deal, the companies said on Monday, creating a combined bank with over $70 billion in assets.
Bremer shareholders will receive 4.182 shares of Old National and $26.22 in cash, valuing the lender at $116.76 per share.
Deals between regional lenders has surged this year as they look to scale up to better compete against bigger rivals, and is expected to get a further boost from President-elect Donald Trump’s lenient stance on capital rules and merger approvals.
The transaction will bolster Old National’s footprint in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin and be the biggest regional bank deal by assets this year.
Founded in 1943, Minnesota-based Bremer has $16.2 billion in assets and is majority-owned by the Otto Bremer Trust.
The trust was founded in 1944 by Otto Bremer, a German immigrant who invested in many upper Midwest banks during the Great Depression.
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