MERGER PROPOSAL — YOUR VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT
The board of directors of Wesbanco, Inc., or Wesbanco, and the board of directors of Old Line Bancshares, Inc., or Old Line Bancshares, have agreed to a merger of the two companies, which we refer to as the “merger,” under the terms and subject to the conditions of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 23, 2019, and referred to in this document as the “merger agreement,” by and among Wesbanco, Wesbanco Bank, Inc., Old Line Bancshares and Old Line Bank. At the effective time of the merger, Old Line Bancshares will merge with and into Wesbanco with Wesbanco continuing as the surviving corporation. Immediately following the merger, Old Line Bank, Old Line Bancshares’ wholly-owned bank subsidiary, will merge with and into Wesbanco Bank, Inc., Wesbanco’s wholly-owned bank subsidiary, which we refer to as the “bank merger,” with Wesbanco Bank, Inc. surviving the bank merger.
If the merger is completed, each share of common stock, $0.01 par value per share, of Old Line Bancshares (“Old Line Bancshares common stock”) outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger will be converted into the right to receive 0.7844 of a share of common stock, $2.0833 par value per share, of Wesbanco (“Wesbanco common stock”), subject to adjustment as described in the merger agreement, which we sometimes refer to as the “merger consideration” or the “exchange ratio.”The number of shares of Wesbanco common stock that Old Line Bancshares stockholders will receive for the merger consideration is fixed, so that the market value of those shares will fluctuate with the market price of Wesbanco common stock and will not be known at the time that either the Wesbanco shareholders or the Old Line Bancshares stockholders vote on the merger. Based on the closing price of Wesbanco’s common stock of $37.69 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 23, 2019, the last full trading day immediately prior to the public announcement of the merger agreement, the value of the per share merger consideration payable to Old Line Bancshares stockholders was $29.56. Based on the $37.67 closing price of Wesbanco’s common stock onSeptember 19, 2019 the last practicable trading day before the date of this joint proxy statement/prospectus, the value of the per share merger consideration payable to Old Line Bancshares stockholders was $29.55.We urge you to obtain current market quotations for Wesbanco common stock (Nasdaq trading symbol “WSBC”) and Old Line Bancshares common stock (Nasdaq trading symbol “OLBK”). Based on the exchange ratio and the number of shares of Old Line Bancshares common stock outstanding as of September 23, 2019, the number of shares that may be issued under various equity plans of Old Line Bancshares and shares that may be issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options, the estimated maximum number of shares of Wesbanco common stock issuable in the merger is expected to be approximately 13,554,745 shares.
Wesbanco and Old Line Bancshares will each hold a special meeting of their shareholders and stockholders in connection with the merger. The Wesbanco special meeting will be held in the 7th Floor Board Room of Wesbanco’s offices located at One Bank Plaza, Wheeling, West Virginia, 26003, on October 29, 2019, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. At the Wesbanco special meeting, Wesbanco shareholders will be asked to vote to approve: (1) the merger agreement; (2) the issuance of shares of Wesbanco common stock in connection with the merger as contemplated by the merger agreement; and (3) adjournment of the Wesbanco special meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies in favor of the approval of the merger agreement or the issuance of shares of Wesbanco common stock in connection with the merger.
The Old Line Bancshares special meeting will be held at Old Line Bancshares’ office located at 1525 Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie, Maryland, on October 29, 2019, at10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. At the Old Line Bancshares special meeting, Old Line Bancshares stockholders will be asked to vote to approve: (1) the merger; (2) in anon-binding advisory vote, of the compensation payable to the named executive officers of Old Line Bancshares in connection with the merger; and (3) the adjournment of the Old Line Bancshares special meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies in favor of the approval of the merger.
Your vote is very important. Whether or not you plan to attend your special meeting, please take the time to vote by completing and mailing the enclosed proxy card or by voting over the Internet or by telephone in accordance with the instructions on the proxy card. If you attend your special meeting and vote in person, your vote by ballot will revoke any proxy previously submitted. We cannot complete the merger unless Old Line Bancshares stockholders approve the merger and Wesbanco shareholders approve the merger agreement and the issuance of shares of Wesbanco common stock in connection with the merger.
The accompanying joint proxy statement/prospectus provides you with information about Old Line Bancshares, Wesbanco, the proposed merger, the documents related to the merger and the separate special meetings of Wesbanco shareholders and Old Line Bancshares stockholders.We encourage you to carefully and thoughtfully read this entire document, including all its annexes, and we especially encourage you to read the section entitled“Risk Factors” beginning on page28. You also can obtain information about Wesbanco and Old Line Bancshares from publicly available documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Wesbanco board of directors recommends that Wesbanco shareholders vote“FOR” the proposal to approve the merger agreement;“FOR” the proposal to approve the issuance of shares of Wesbanco common stock in connection with the merger and“FOR” the proposal to approve the adjournment of the Wesbanco special meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies in favor of the approval of the merger agreement or approval of the issuance of shares of Wesbanco common stock in connection with the merger.
The Old Line Bancshares board of directors recommends that Old Line Bancshares stockholders vote“FOR” the proposal to approve the merger,“FOR” the proposal to approve, on anon-binding, advisory basis, the compensation payable to the named executive officers of Old Line Bancshares in connection with the merger, and“FOR” the proposal to adjourn the Old Line Bancshares special meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies if there are not sufficient votes to approve the merger at the scheduled time of the special meeting.
We strongly support this combination of our companies and look forward to the successful completion of the merger.
| | |
![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/DEFM14A/0001193125-19-252403/g807341g56a49.jpg)
Todd F. Clossin President and Chief Executive Officer Wesbanco, Inc. | | ![LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/DEFM14A/0001193125-19-252403/g807341g93y07.jpg)
James W. Cornelsen President and Chief Executive Officer Old Line Bancshares, Inc. |
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this joint proxy statement/prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The securities Wesbanco is offering through this joint proxy statement/prospectus are not savings or deposit accounts or other obligations of any bank or savings association, and they are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
This document incorporates important business and financial information about Wesbanco and Old Line Bancshares that is not included in or delivered with this document. This information is available without charge upon written or oral request at the applicable company’s address and telephone number listed under the heading “Additional Information.” In order to ensure timely delivery, you must request Wesbanco information no later than five business days prior to the date of the Wesbanco special meeting, or October 22, 2019 and you must request Old Line Bancshares information no later than five business days prior to the date of the Old Line Bancshares special meeting, or October 22, 2019. Please see “Where You Can Find More Information About Wesbanco and Old Line Bancshares” for instructions to request this and certain other information regarding Wesbanco and Old Line Bancshares.
This joint proxy statement/prospectus is dated September 23, 2019, and is first being mailed to Wesbanco shareholders and Old Line Bancshares stockholders on or about September 26, 2019.