Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form Type: 425
Source: 0001193125-25-216443
Chunk: 3

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form: 425
Chunk 3
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 issued in the Merger, (iii) authorization for listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market of the shares of First Merchants common stock to be issued in the Merger, and (iv) receipt of regulatory approvals. The parties anticipate completing the Merger in the first quarter of 2026. The Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both First Merchants and First Savings. Under certain circumstances, termination of the Merger Agreement may result in the payment of a termination fee by First Savings to First Merchants, all as more fully described in the Merger Agreement. The foregoing descriptions of the Merger Agreement and the Voting Agreement are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement and the Voting Agreement, as applicable, which are filed as Exhibits 2.1 and 10.1, respectively, and, as mentioned above, are incorporated herein by reference.

| Item 7.01. | Regulation FD Disclosure. |

On September 25, 2025, First Merchants and First Savings issued a joint press release announcing the execution of the Merger Agreement. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference herein. In addition, First Merchants prepared supplemental information regarding the Merger for analysts and investors. A copy of the information is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and incorporated herein by reference. The preceding information, as well as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 referenced therein, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section, or incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing. - 2 -

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This filing and the exhibits hereto contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words like “believe”, “continue”, “pattern”, “estimate”, “project”,
“intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”,
“can”,