First Financial to Buy First Illinois in $111.3 Million Deal
The Cincinnati bank holding company will add Hickory Point Bank’s community banking presence in Decatur, Springfield and Champaign.
First Financial Corporation (FFBC) agreed to acquire First Illinois Corporation in a mixed stock-and-cash transaction valued at approximately $111.3 million, extending the Cincinnati-based bank holding company’s Illinois footprint.
Shareholders of First Illinois will receive 0.5727 shares of First Financial common stock for each share of First Illinois common stock outstanding, or the per-share cash alternative of $44.35. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval and First Illinois stockholder approval.
The transaction will complement First Financial’s existing Illinois franchise by adding Hickory Point Bank’s community banking presence in Decatur, Springfield and Champaign.
“We are pleased to expand our footprint in Illinois through the addition of Hickory Point Bank, an exceptional community banking franchise with strong customer relationships across central Illinois,” said Norman D. Lowery, First Financial’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
First Financial has been adding Illinois and Midwest capacity through recent deals. In August 2025, it announced an all-stock acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation valued at approximately $142 million as of the merger agreement; that deal closed on January 1, 2026, lifting First Financial to $22 billion in assets and putting its first retail consumer-focused locations in the Chicago market.
The First Illinois deal follows that Chicago expansion and keeps the company’s growth concentrated in the Midwest. First Financial, which had $18.6 billion in assets as of September 30, 2025, operated 127 full-service banking centers in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois at that date. The Hickory Point Bank locations in Decatur, Springfield and Champaign sit in central Illinois, a region described as an area of strong customer relationships.
Closing remains contingent on regulatory and stockholder approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.