WARREN and CURWENSVILLE – Northwest Bancorp Inc. the holding company for Northwest Savings Bank, and Penn Laurel Financial Corp., the holding company for CSB Bank, announced jointly Friday that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Northwest Bancorp Inc. and Northwest Savings Bank would acquire Penn Laurel and CSB Bank.
The agreement provides that the shareholders of Penn Laurel will receive $31 in cash for each of their shares. Holders of options will receive in cash, the difference between $31 and the exercise price. The total value of the transaction is $32.7 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second calendar quarter of 2007 and is subject to the approval of the shareholders of Penn Laurel Financial Corp. and state and federal regulatory authorities.
Wesley M. Weymers, president and CEO of Penn Laurel, stated, “We are extremely excited with the prospect of becoming part of the Northwest Bancorp team. Northwest has developed a superb reputation in the industry as a community banking organization that delivers quality products and services to its customers. We hope to leverage these strengths and the added resources that Northwest will bring to our market to better serve and greatly expand our customer base in North Central Pennsylvania.”
William J. Wagner, president and CEO of Northwest Bancorp Inc., stated, “We are pleased to announce the merger with Penn Laurel Financial Corporation and the expansion of our network in North Central Pennsylvania. Penn Laurel is a very well-managed financial institution with a history of exceeding its customers’ expectations while remaining a good corporate citizen in the communities it serves.” Wagner added “Penn Laurel has historically maintained strong levels of net interest income and fee income which results from its emphasis on funding commercial loans with core deposits. When these components of income are combined with the significant synergies we expect to realize from this in–market merger, we anticipate the addition of Penn Laurel will be accretive to return-on-assets, return-on-equity and earnings per share. In addition, our combined network of offices in Clearfield and Elk counties will give us significant market share in North Central Pennsylvania.”
Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Warren, Northwest Bancorp Inc. has assets of $6.5 billion and currently operates 160 community banking facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Florida. Northwest operates one location in Clearfield County in Clearfield and seven locations in Elk County in the communities of St. Marys (2), Johnsonburg (2), Ridgway (2) and Weedville. It is a full-service financial institution which features retail and commercial banking products as well as trust and investment management services.
Founded in 1924, Penn Laurel Financial Corporation had assets of $231 million and shareholders’ equity of $19.8 million as of September 30, 2006. It operates four full-service banking facilities in the Clearfield County communities of Curwensville, Clearfield, Coalport and DuBois and one in Elk County in the city of St. Marys.
