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Farmers National Banc Corp., National Bancshares Corp. announce merger
CANFIELD
A local community bank is expanding its footprint in Ohio.
Farmers National Banc Corp., parent company of Farmers National Bank of Canfield, announced Tuesday evening an agreement to merge with National Bancshares Corp., the parent company of First National Bank of Orrville.
“We are acquiring their stock and share,” said Kevin J. Hemlick, president and CEO of Farmers.
The transaction is valued at about $74 million, and would increase Farmers’ asset base by about 50 percent to $1.7 billion.
Each shareholder of National Bancshares will be entitled to elect to receive either $32.15 per share in cash or 4.034 shares of Farmers’ common stock. All 14 branches of First National will become branches of Farmers, making it a total of 33 banking locations in Ohio.
Additionally, Farmers enters the market in Wayne and Medina counties.
“We view it as bolstering our presence,” Hemlick said. “It really does expand our footprint.”
He added that National Bancshares has a strong reputation and a mix of additional loans and deposits.
“We want a stronger Northeast Ohio community bank in the long run,” Hemlick said.
James R. Smail and Howard J. Wenger, members of National Bancshares’ board of directors, will be added to the Farmers’ board, making it a total of 11 members.
“The combined company will create a top-performing Northeast Ohio franchise with complementary business lines and branch locations,” Smail said in a news statement. “The increased operating scale, product depth and efficiency will help drive strong returns to shareholders.”
Mark R. Witmer, president and CEO of National Bancshares, will join Farmers as senior executive vice president and chief community banking officer.
“We are excited about the additional products and services that Farmers will bring to our customer base and the long-term value this transaction creates for our shareholders,” Witmer said in a statement.
Unlike Farmers, First National Bank lacked a wealth-management platform (trusts, investments, insurance, and private banking), Hemlick said.
“We have a very broad wealth-management platform,” he said.
Farmers is currently the seventh-largest bank in the Youngstown area.
The company expects the transaction to close in the first half of this year.