Company: WSBC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-030795
Chunk: 141

Company: WESBANCO INC
Filing Date: 2025-03-03
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 141
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 required to take an impairment charge in the future. Any impairment charge would have a negative effect on its shareholders’ equity and financial results and may cause a decline in our stock price.

RISKS RELATING TO THE PREMIER FINANCIAL MERGER

Although we expect that our acquisition of Premier FINANCIAL will result in cost savings, synergies and other benefits, the combined company may not realize those benefits because of integration difficulties and other challenges.

The success of our acquisition of Premier Financial (as here and after defined) will depend in large part on the success of the management of the combined company in integrating the operations, strategies, technologies and personnel of the two companies following the completion of the Merger. The combined company may fail to realize some or all of the anticipated benefits of the Merger (as here and after defined) if the integration process takes longer than expected or is more costly than expected. The failure of the combined company to meet the challenges involved in successfully integrating the operations of the two companies or to otherwise realize any of the anticipated benefits of the Merger, including additional cost savings and synergies, could impair the operations of the combined company. In addition, we anticipate that the overall integration of Premier Financial will be a time-consuming and expensive process that, without proper planning and effective and timely implementation, could significantly disrupt the combined company’s business.

Potential difficulties the combined company may encounter in the integration process include the following:

•the integration of management teams, strategies, technologies and operations, products and services; 

•the disruption of ongoing businesses and distraction of their respective management teams from ongoing business concerns;

•the retention of and possible decrease in business from the existing customers of both companies;

•the creation of uniform standards, controls, procedures, policies and information systems;

•the reduction of the costs associated with each company’s operations;

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•the integration of corporate cultures and maintenance of employee morale;

•the retention of key employees; and

•potential unknown liabilities associated with the Merger.

The anticipated cost savings, synergies and other benefits of the Merger assume a successful integration of the companies and are based on projections and other assumptions, which are inherently uncertain. Even if integration is successful, anticipated cost savings, synergies and other benefits may not be achieved.

We have incurred, and will incur, significant transaction-related costs in connection with the Merger.

We have incurred and will incur substantial expenses in connection with the negotiation and completion of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (as here and after defined), as well as