Integra to buy Peoples Bancorp

Integra Bank Corp.'s announcement Thursday that it will acquire Peoples Community Bancorp Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $85.6 million reinforced Greater Cincinnati's reputation as one of the nation's most competitive banking markets.

Evansville-based Integra will secure a strong foothold in the region with the purchase of West Chester-based Peoples' 19 banking centers in Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties, as well as in southeastern Indiana. The merger marks Integra's first entry into southwest Ohio.

Integra has several locations in Northern Kentucky, including Florence, Covington, Dry Ridge and Union.

But Integra said its expansion plans in the region won't end with the merger.

"We'll continue to look for opportunities to grow here through acquisitions, branch expansion and hiring more people," said Mike Vea, Integra's chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Vea said the deal will give Integra deposits of about $870 million, assets of about $1.5 billion, 31 branches and 35 ATMs and place it in head-to-head competition in Greater Cincinnati with banking giants Fifth Third and U.S. Bank, among others.

Its $870 million in deposits would make it slightly larger in deposits than Crestview Hills-based Bank of Kentucky Inc., which had deposits of nearly $808.6 million as of June 30, 2006, and is the 10th largest bank in the metropolitan area, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Overall, the combined company will have assets of $4.2 billion and deposits of $3.2 billion.

The merger, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008, still needs shareholder and regulatory approval.

Vea said the banks do not overlap markets, so any job losses should be minimal.

However, he said there are some jobs that are redundant, which could create some job displacement.

Tom Noe, treasurer and executive vice president at Peoples, said the bank employs about 200 people locally.

He said over the next month or so, Integra will be interviewing Peoples employees with the intent to find jobs for as many of them as possible.

"We expect that Integra will retain the vast majority of our employees, and (Integra) has stated that they have no plan to close any of our offices," Noe said.

Noe also said the deal was in the best interest of shareholders, customers and employees.

He said Integra agreed to pay about a 10 percent premium over Peoples' recent stock price.

Peoples' stock closed Thursday at $16.88, up 78 cents, or 4.84 percent.

Integra's stock closed at $18.10, down 35 cents, or 1.90 percent.