Manitowoc, Wis.-based Bank First Corporation is acquiring Fond du Lac, Wis.-based Hometown Bancorp, Ltd., in an approximately $124 million stock-and-cash purchase, growing its presence in central Wisconsin.
Hometown Bancorp is the parent company of the $627 million Hometown Bank. As of June 30, Hometown had $421 million in gross loans, $538 million in deposits and $65 million in consolidated stockholders’ equity. The combined company will have approximately $4.3 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in loans and $3.7 billion in deposits.
Hometown President & CEO Tim McFarlane will join Bank First as president.
Mike Molepske will continue serving as CEO and board chair of both the $2.9 billion Bank First Corporation and its subsidiary Bank First.
The announcement came roughly six months after Bank First agreed to acquire Wisconsin’s Denmark State Bank in an approximately $119 million stock-and-cash transaction.
“Our organizations’ shared values make this partnership a natural fit,” McFarlane said. “By joining with Bank First, we found an opportunity to align with a partner that shares our passion for providing personalized customer service and shows a genuine concern for the well-being of our employees, customers and communities.”
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. Under the deal, each Hometown shareholder will be able to receive either $29.16 in cash or 0.3962 of a share of Bank First common stock in exchange for each share of Hometown common stock.
Piper & Sandler Co., Minneapolis, served as financial adviser to Bank First, while Alston & Bird LLP, Atlanta, provided legal counsel. Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c., Milwaukee, provided legal counsel to Hometown.