UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 13, 2024
Wesbanco, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| West Virginia | 001-39442 | 55-0571723 | ||
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
1 Bank Plaza, Wheeling, WV | 26003 | |||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (304) 234-9000
Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report: Not Applicable
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2. below):
| ☒ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading | Name of each exchange | ||
| Common Stock $2.0833 Par Value | WSBC | NASDAQ Global Select Market | ||
| Depositary Shares (each representing 1/40th interest in a share of 6.75% Fixed-Rate Reset Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A) | WSBCP | NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Item 8.01 Other Events
On July 25, 2024, Wesbanco, Inc. (the “Company”), Wesbanco Bank, Inc. (“Wesbanco Bank”), Premier Financial Corp. (“Premier Financial”) and Premier Bank entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) providing for the merger of Premier Financial with and into the Company (the “Merger”) upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement. As a result of the Merger, the separate corporate existence of Premier Financial will cease, and the Company will continue as the surviving corporation in the Merger. The Merger Agreement also provides that, immediately following the completion of the Merger, Premier Bank, an Ohio state-chartered bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Premier Financial, will merge with and into Wesbanco Bank, a West Virginia banking corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Bank Merger”), with Wesbanco Bank continuing as the surviving bank in the Bank Merger.
In connection with the proposed Merger and Bank Merger, the following historical financial statements of Premier Financial are filed by the Company as exhibits to this Current Report on Form 8-K:
| • | Audited consolidated financial statements of Premier Financial and its subsidiaries as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, the notes related thereto, and the reports dated February 28, 2024, relating to such consolidated financial statements of the Company and the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| • | Unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Premier Financial and its subsidiaries as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, and for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2024 and June 30, 2023, and the notes related thereto. |
Also filed by the Company as an exhibit to this Current Report on Form 8-K are unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of income for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023 of the Company and an unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of June 30, 2024 of the Company, and the notes related thereto. These unaudited condensed combined pro forma financial statements give pro forma effect to the Merger and the related transactions that have occurred or will occur in connection with the Merger. These unaudited condensed combined pro forma financial statements are derived from the historical financial statements of the Company and Premier Financial. These unaudited condensed combined pro forma financial statements are preliminary and reflect a number of assumptions, including, among others, that the Merger, the Bank Merger and the related transactions will be consummated. There can be no assurance that any of such transactions will be consummated or that the actual terms of such transactions will not differ materially from the Company’s current expectations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters set forth in the exhibits to this filing contain certain forward-looking statements, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections, and including statements about the benefits of the proposed Merger between the Company and Premier Financial, that are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in the exhibits to this filing are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those contained or implied by such statements for a variety of factors including: the effects of changing regional and national economic conditions, changes in interest rates, spreads on earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, and associated interest rate sensitivity; sources of liquidity available to the Company and its related subsidiary operations; potential future credit losses and the credit risk of commercial, real estate, and consumer loan customers and their borrowing activities; actions of the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the SEC, the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, and other regulatory bodies; potential legislative and federal and state regulatory actions and reform, including, without limitation, the impact of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act; adverse decisions of federal and state courts; fraud, scams and schemes of third parties; cyber-security breaches; competitive conditions in the financial services industry; rapidly changing technology affecting financial services; marketability of debt instruments and corresponding impact on fair value adjustments; and/or other external developments materially impacting the Company’s operational and financial performance, the businesses of the Company and Premier Financial may not be integrated successfully or such integration may take longer to accomplish than expected; the expected cost savings and any revenue synergies from the proposed Merger may not be fully realized within the expected timeframes; disruption from the proposed Merger may make it more difficult to maintain relationships with clients, associates, or suppliers; the required governmental approvals of the proposed Merger may not be obtained on the expected terms and schedule; the shareholders of Premier Financial may not approve the proposed Merger and/or the shareholders of the Company may not approve the Merger Agreement or the issuance of shares of the Company’s common stock in connection with the Merger; changes in economic conditions; movements in interest rates; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success and timing of other business strategies; the nature, extent, and timing of governmental
actions and reforms; and extended disruption of vital infrastructure; and other factors described in the Company’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Premier Financial’s 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and documents subsequently filed by the Company and Premier Financial with the SEC. All forward-looking statements included in this filing are based on information available at the time of the release. Neither the Company nor Premier Financial assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Additional Information About the Merger and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed Merger, the Company will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a joint proxy statement of Premier Financial and the Company and a prospectus of the Company, as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY, SHAREHOLDERS OF PREMIER FINANCIAL AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE MERGER WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. The Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of the Company and shareholders of Premier Financial prior to the respective shareholder meetings, which have not yet been scheduled. In addition, when the Registration Statement on Form S-4, which will include the Joint Proxy Statements/Prospectus, and other related documents are filed by the Company or Premier with the SEC, they may be obtained for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and from either the Company’s or Premier Financial’s website at www.wesbanco.com or www.premierfincorp.com, respectively.
No Offer or Solicitation
This Current Report on Form 8-K is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed Merger and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
Participants in the Solicitation
The Company and Premier Financial and their respective executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the respective shareholders of the Company and Premier Financial in connection with the proposed Merger. Information about the directors and executive officers of the Company is set forth in the proxy statement for the Company’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on March 13, 2024. Information about the directors and executive officers of Premier Financial is set forth in the proxy statement for Premier Financial’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on March 18, 2024. Information about any other persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered participants in the solicitation of the respective shareholders of the Company or Premier Financial in connection with the proposed Merger will be included in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus. You can obtain free copies of these documents from the SEC, the Company or Premier Financial using the website information above. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
THE RESPECTIVE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY AND PREMIER FINANCIAL ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED MERGER.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits:
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Wesbanco, Inc. | ||||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||
| Date: September 13, 2024 | /s/ Daniel K. Weiss, Jr. | |||||
| Daniel K. Weiss, Jr. | ||||||
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||||