Company: NWBI
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form Type: S-4
Source: 0001193125-25-012768
Chunk: 48

Company: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form: S-4
Chunk 48
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 the Northwest management representatives requested
that Stephens connect the parties for further discussion if Penns Woods had an interest in exploring a potential transaction. Penns Woods agreed to continue the discussion.

On September 13, 2024, Penns Woods and Northwest executed a standard mutual nondisclosure agreement.

During the last two weeks of September 2024, Penns Woods shared some preliminary information with Northwest and its financial advisor and
began to populate a virtual data room for due diligence purposes.

On October 6 and October 7, 2024, the senior management teams
of Penns Woods and Northwest met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a series of meetings that were primarily due diligence in nature.

Due
diligence and management discussions continued for the following two weeks.

On October 21, 2024, Northwest presented Penns Woods
with a non-binding indication of interest letter providing for, among other things, an all-stock merger transaction and an exchange ratio of 2.35 shares of Northwest
common stock for each share of Penns Woods common stock.

On October 24, 2024, following some additional discussion through the
parties’ financial advisors, Northwest presented Penns Woods with a revised a non-binding indication of interest letter, which increased the exchange ratio to 2.385 shares of Northwest common stock for
each share of Penns Woods common stock. The revised non-binding indication of interest letter was distributed to the board, and, following board review and authorization on October 29, 2024,
Mr. Grafmyre executed the non-binding indication of interest letter on behalf of Penns Woods on October 29, 2024.

On November 18, 2024, Stevens & Lee P.C. (“Stevens & Lee”), legal counsel to Penns Woods, was provided a
draft merger agreement by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, legal counsel to Northwest. The draft merger agreement reflected the matters included in the non-binding indication of interest letter. The parties and
their respective financial advisors negotiated the draft merger agreement over the following weeks. The terms negotiated and discussed by the parties included, without limitation, executory period covenants, closing conditions, termination
provisions and related termination fees, post-closing board membership, and post-closing employee matters. Due diligence of Penns Woods by Northwest and reverse due diligence of Northwest by Penns Woods continued while the parties negotiated the
terms of the draft merger agreement.

At a meeting held on November 26, 2024,