HBT Financial to Merge with Tri-County Financial

Mendota, Ill-based Tri-County Financial Group and HBT Financial will be merging in a stock-and-cash deal valued at about $204.6 million. 

As part of the merger, the combined company will have roughly $8.3 billion in assets under management, $6 billion in total loans, and about $7.1 billion in total deposits. 

Additionally, the deal is expected to add 19 branches across central and northern Illinois and boost HBT’s total assets to over $8 billion. 

Following the closing of the merger, Tri-County’s chairman Thomas Prescott, will join the board of HBT Financial and Heartland Bank and Trust Company, the wholly owned banking subsidiary of HBT Financial. 

The deal, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of next year, will mark HBT Financial’s twelfth merger since 2007. 

Tri-County shareholders will own about 9% of the combined company when the deal has been finalized, and each of the companies’ board of directors and shareholders will hold close to 30% of the outstanding shares of Tri-County common stock. 

“I believe this merger marks an exciting new chapter for our organization,” Prescott said. “It is also rooted in the same principles that have guided us for decades: serving customers well, supporting our communities, and creating long-term value for our shareholders.” 

HBT Financial’s latest transaction comes after the bank closed its acquisition of CNB Bank in March. The merger was valued at about $170.2 million and marked the bank’s expansion into the Midwest. 

First State Bank, the parent of Tri-County Financial, has a total of $1.6 billion in assets under management, total loans of $1.3 billion, and total deposits of $1.3 billion as of June 30. 

Bloomington, Ill-based HBT Financial has a total of $6.7 billion in assets under management, total loans of $4.8 billion, and total deposits of $5.8 billion, as of June 30.