Civista to acquire Comunibanc

SANDUSKY – Sandusky-based Civista Bancshares, Inc. has announced plans to acquire Napoleon-based Comunibanc, Corp., the parent company of The Henry County Bank.

According Civista, if the deal goes through, the combined company will have total assets of approximately $3.3 billion, total net loans of approximately $2.1 billion and total deposits of approximately $2.7 billion.

The acquisition of Comunibanc will give Civista seven new branches in Henry and Wood Counties and approximately $276 million in low-cost core deposits.

“We are very excited to welcome Comunibanc’s customers and employees to the Civista family,” said Dennis G. Shaffer, CEO and President of Civista.  “We have known the Comunibanc team for a very long time and have always admired the franchise and their strong and stable presence in their local communities.  We look forward to collaborating with Comunibanc’s leadership team to grow and enhance their banking platform.  The current Civista team has significant experience operating in the Northwest Ohio market and are very excited to partner with Comunibanc and accelerate growth.”

“We have great admiration and respect for the Civista team and we believe this merger is a great outcome for our shareholders and positions us for continued success,” stated Bill Wendt Chairman and President of Comunibanc.  “We believe partnering with Civista will provide us the enhanced capacity to deliver the products and services sought by our customers and will accelerate the commercial loan production efforts that we have undertaken in the Northwest Ohio market.  Our relationship with Civista’s management team is long-dated going back nearly thirty years and we have always felt our two organizations share a similar culture and operating philosophy.  This transaction represents a win-win for all of all our stakeholders.”

Subject to the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, each share of Comunibanc common stock will receive 1.1888 shares of Civista common stock and $30.13 in cash.  This implies a deal value of approximately $50.2 million in the aggregate or $60.59 per Comunibanc share based on the closing price of Civista’s common stock on January 7, 2022 of $25.62.

Under terms of the merger agreement, the directors of Comunibanc have agreed to vote all Comunibanc shares that they own in favor of the merger.  In addition, after closing one of the Comunibanc directors will join the Civista Bank Board of Directors.