HBT Financial to Buy Tri-County Financial Group in $204.6 Million Deal
The mixed cash-and-stock deal deepens HBT's roots in central Illinois and pushes further into the Chicago metro area, echoing the bank's own acquisition playbook.
HBT Financial, Inc. (HBT) agreed to acquire Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. in a mixed cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $204.6 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tri-County shareholders may elect to receive 2.4589 shares of HBT Financial common stock for each Tri-County share, $71.01 a share in cash, or a combination of cash and stock consideration. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval by Tri-County's shareholders, required regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.
The merger strengthens HBT Financial's footprint in central Illinois and the Chicago metropolitan statistical area and, through greater scale, expands product opportunities for First State Bank customers. "I look forward to working with Kirk Ross and his team at First State Bank to continue to deliver high-quality service to their customers. Our banks share strong roots in the communities that we have served for generations in central and north central Illinois. HBT's disciplined approach to M&A has allowed us to maintain strong financial performance while expanding our asset base and the communities that we serve. We are confident our merger with First State Bank will continue that success," said J. Lance Carter, President and CEO of HBT Financial and Heartland Bank.
The transaction follows HBT's recently closed acquisition of CNB Bank Shares, Inc. and its subsidiary CNB Bank & Trust, N.A., which drove strong second-quarter 2026 results, including adjusted net income of $28.5 million and a tax-equivalent net interest margin of 4.38%. HBT's history in the region includes de novo branch expansion, FDIC-assisted deals, and prior acquisitions such as Town and Country Financial Corporation and NXT Bank, alongside its 2026 entry into Missouri through the CNB transaction. Tri-County fits that pattern of tuck-in deals aimed at deepening deposit density in markets HBT already knows.
The deal also arrives amid a broader wave of Midwest community bank consolidation. First Financial Bancorp's all-stock acquisition of Finward Bancorp added 24 financial centers in northwest Indiana and Chicago and was expected to lift First Financial's pro forma Chicago-area deposits by 75% to more than $4 billion. Independent Bank Corporation's cash-and-stock purchase of HCB Financial Corp., valued at roughly $70.2 million, similarly targeted a funding gap between two of its core Michigan hubs. Together with HBT's own CNB deal, the transactions point to regional banks using disciplined, in-footprint M&A to add scale and low-cost deposits rather than chase new geographies.
HBT's acquisition of Tri-County still requires sign-off from Tri-County's shareholders and banking regulators before it can close, with the companies targeting a first-quarter 2027 completion.