Company: NWBI
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form Type: S-4
Source: 0001193125-25-012768
Chunk: 53

Company: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-27
Form: S-4
Chunk 53
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 common stock; |

| • |     | the fact that Northwest common stock is currently quoted on the Nasdaq Stock Market, which, coupled with the                          
 significantly greater market capitalization of the combined company, will result in increased liquidity for Penns Woods shareholders; |

| • |     | the terms of the Merger Agreement, including the representations and warranties of the parties, the covenants of                                                                                                                             
 the parties, the amount and type of merger consideration, the conditions to closing, and the termination rights of the parties, including the ability of Penns Woods to terminate the merger agreement in the event of specified declines in 
 Northwest’s common stock price from the date of the merger agreement compared against specified declines in the Nasdaq Bank Stock Index over the same period and the board’s ability to terminate the merger agreement to pursue a           
 “superior proposal” (subject to payment of a termination fee);                                                                                                                                                                               |

| • |     | the opinion and supporting financial analyses presented by Stephens to the Penns Woods board of directors to the                                                                                                                                          
 effect that, as of the date of the opinion, and subject to and based on the qualifications and assumptions set forth in the opinion, the merger consideration provided for in the merger agreement is fair, from a financial point of view, to the common 
 equity shareholders of Penns Woods;                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

| • |     | the commitment by Northwest to elect Richard A. Grafmyre, a director and the Chief Executive Officer of Penns                                                                
 Woods, or another designee selected from the current Penns Woods board should Mr. Grafmyre become unable or ineligible to serve, to the boards of directors of Northwest and |

36

| Northwest Savings Bank as of closing and until the 2026 annual meeting of Northwest shareholders with a commitment to renominate Mr. Grafmyre or the replacement Penns Woods director for one 
 additional term thereafter, thereby retaining a level of input over future strategic direction of the combined entity; and                                                                    |

| • |     | the likelihood of expeditiously obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals without unusual or burdensome 
 conditions.                                                                                                |

The Penns Woods board of directors also considered a number of potential risks and uncertainties associated with the merger in connection with its deliberation of the proposed transaction, including, without limitation, the following:

| • |     | because the transaction is structured as a fixed exchange ratio, the possibility that the trading price of the                                                                                                                                       
 Northwest common stock could decline prior to completion of the merger such that the value of the merger