Company: NWBI
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form Type: S-4
Source: 0001193125-25-012768
Chunk: 46

Company: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form: S-4
Chunk 46
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 appropriate methods to fund growth.
The board has been receptive to considering a number of different alternatives to fund continued growth, including an acquisition of one or more smaller financial institutions, a business combination with a larger financial institution that could
provide additional financial resources as well as acceptable shareholder returns, and funding loan growth through core and other deposit growth or through equity capital raises.

Over the past few years, Penns Woods’ Chief Executive Officer and President and Chief Financial Officer, at the board’s direction
and in connection with the board’s ongoing consideration of strategic paths, met

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or had discussions with certain financial institutions operating in Penns Woods’ market area, both institutions larger and smaller than Penns Woods, regarding a potential business
combination.

With respect to smaller institutions considered to be potential acquisition candidates, Penns Woods concluded, based on
preliminary discussions with the institutions contacted, that the institutions either had no desire to sell or had price expectations that were not in line with the price that Penns Woods was willing to offer. Penns Woods also acknowledged that,
given merger activity in recent years and the lack of de novo banking activity, there was a relative scarcity in the number of smaller community banks that would be an appropriate merger partner. Finally, the generally depressed market prices of
bank stocks generally during this period, including the market price of Penns Woods common stock, made an all-stock acquisition of a smaller institution challenging and an acquisition involving a substantial
amount of cash would have negative effects on capital.

With respect to larger institutions, Penns Woods had preliminary discussions over
the past few years with three different Pennsylvania-based bank holding companies. In January 2022, Penns Woods was introduced to bank holding company A by a financial advisor. A confidentiality agreement was signed with bank holding company A and
preliminary discussions with bank holding company A resulted in a non-binding indication of interest letter for an all-stock transaction. Although the price offered by
bank holding company A was in an acceptable range for possible consideration (low $30s per share at that time), the pro forma equivalent cash dividend payable to Penns Woods shareholders after the transaction would have decreased by 40% and the
transaction was not considered to otherwise be a good cultural fit for customers or employees. In December 2023, the chief executive officer of bank holding company B contacted Penns Woods’ chief executive officer to discuss a potential
business combination. A confidentiality agreement was signed with bank holding company B and limited information was exchanged between the parties. No written or verbal indication