WesBanco in Wheeling, W.Va., has agreed to buy First Sentry Bancshares in Huntington, W.Va.
The $9.9 billion-asset WesBanco said in a press release Monday that it will pay $101.4 million in stock for the $666 million-asset First Sentry. The deal is expected to close in the first or second quarter.
First Sentry has $455 million in loans and $527 million in deposits.
"We look forward to providing the customers of First Sentry with a broader array of banking services, including expanded commercial and mortgage lending capabilities as well as trust and wealth management services," Todd Clossin, WesBanco’s president and CEO, said in the release. "First Sentry's commercial lending focus and solid credit quality matches well with WesBanco's strengths and strategies.”
The acquisition is expected to boost WesBanco’s presence in Huntington and provide a bridge to its existing operations in Charleston, W.Va., and southeastern Ohio.
WesBanco said it expects the deal to be 2.2% accretive to next year’s earnings and and 3.3% accretive in 2019, excluding $9.9 million in one-time expenses. It should take about two and a half years to earn back the 1.2% dilution to WesBanco’s tangible book value.
Geoffrey Sheils, First Sentry's president and CEO, will become a WesBanco market president.
D.A. Davidson, Phillips Gardill Kaiser & Altmeyer and K&L Gates advised WesBanco. Sandler O’Neill and Bowles Rice advised First Sentry.
