Summit Financial Group in Moorefield, W.Va., has agreed to buy WinFirst Financial in Winchester, Ky.
The $2.9 billion-asset Summit said in a press release Monday that it will pay $21.7 million in cash for the $152 million-asset parent of WinFirst Bank. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.
Summit will enter Kentucky when the deal closes.
“This transaction represents an exceptional opportunity for Summit to expand its franchise into Kentucky through the merger of two financially strong banks with similar cultures, core values and guiding principles,” H. Charles Maddy, Summit’s president and CEO, said in the release.
Summit said it expects to incur $2.3 million in merger-related expenses. The company plans to cut about 30% of WinFirst’s annual operating expenses.
It should take about four years for Summit to earn back any dilution to its tangible book value. The company expects the deal to be 6.4% accretive to its 2021 earnings per share.
WinFirst was founded by Richard McCready in 1934 with a $1,200 loan.
Piper Sandler and Frost Brown Todd advised WinFirst. Bowles Rice advised Summit.
