A pair of Chicago banks will merge in the first half of 2019. First Midwest Bancorp inked a deal to acquire Bridgeview Bancorp for $145 million.
Bridgeview has approximately $1.2 billion in total assets, $1.1 billion in deposits, of which nearly
75 percent are core deposits, and $800 million in loans. The deal doesn’t include Bridgeview’s mortgage business. It operates 13 banking offices across greater Chicagoland, including branches in the Bryn Mawr, Edgewater, Garfield Ridge, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square and Uptown neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as several suburbs.
“Bridgeview is a well-established and trusted financial institution with deep client and community relationships, which we look forward to continuing,” said Michael L. Scudder, chair, president and CEO of First Midwest. Joining forces with Bridgeview brings to all of our clients an expanded footprint across Chicago and further enhances our position as metro Chicago’s premier commercial bank.”
The merger agreement provides for a fixed exchange ratio of 0.2767 shares of First Midwest common stock, plus $1.79 in cash for each share of Bridgeview common stock.
This is First Midwest’s second bank deal of the year. It acquired Northern States Financial Corp in October. The company also agreed to buy a Wisconsin wealth management firm last month. Those moves came after First Midwest announced a plan to close 19 branches and trim its workforce by 7 percent in May.
The $15 billion First Midwest has offices in Chicagoland, northwest Indiana, central and western Illinois, and eastern Iowa.