Horizon Bancorp To Acquire Kosciusko

(RTTNews) - Horizon Bancorp (HBNC) and Kosciusko Financial, Inc. announced they have executed a definitive agreement whereby Horizon will acquire Kosciusko and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Farmers State Bank, an Indiana state chartered bank, through a stock and cash merger.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders of Kosciusko will have the option to receive $81.75 per share in cash or 3.0122 shares of Horizon common stock for each share of Kosciusko's common stock or a combination thereof, provided the overall shares exchanged consist of 65% stock and 35% cash. Based upon the February 3, 2016, closing price of $23.99 per share of Horizon common stock, the transaction has an implied valuation of approximately $22.5 million.

Established in 1892 and headquartered in Mentone, Indiana, Kosciusko, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Farmers State Bank, serves northeast Indiana with five full-service banking locations. As of December 31, 2015, Kosciusko had total assets of approximately $148.2 million and total equity of $16.5 million, translating to an equity to asset ratio of 11.1%.

Horizon Bancorp is a community bank holding company headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana with total assets of $2.7 billion as of December 31, 2015. Horizon Bancorp's wholly-owned subsidiary, Horizon Bank, NA, still operates under its original charter, dating back to 1873, with forty-six offices extending throughout northern and central Indiana and southwestern and central Michigan.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016, subject to approval by bank regulatory authorities and the shareholders of Kosciusko, as well as the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Farmers State Bank will be merged into Horizon Bank, and the combined operations will be continued under the Horizon Bank name.