Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form Type: 425
Source: 0001193125-25-216443
Chunk: 106

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-09-25
Form: 425
Chunk 106
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., Jeffersonville, Indiana

FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION AND FIRST SAVINGS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. ANNOUNCE SIGNING OF DEFINITIVE MERGER AGREEMENT

MUNCIE, IN. and JEFFERSONVILLE, IN, September 25, 2025 — First Merchants
Corporation (Nasdaq: FRME) (“First Merchants”) and First Savings Financial Group, Inc., (Nasdaq: FSFG) (“First Savings”) today announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which First Savings
will merge with and into First Merchants in an all-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $241.3 million. Immediately following the merger, First Savings Bank will merge with and into First
Merchants Bank.

Headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, First Savings operates 16 banking center locations in southern Indiana. First Savings has total
assets of $2.4 billion, total loans of $1.9 billion, and total deposits of $1.7 billion earning a 1.02% return on average assets (annualized) and a 13.7% return on average equity (annualized) for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.

The merger agreement provides that the common shareholders of First Savings will have the right to receive 0.85 of a share of First Merchants common
stock, in a tax-free exchange, for each share of First Savings common stock owned. Based on the closing price of First Merchants common stock on September 24, 2025 of $39.53 per share, the implied merger
consideration for each share of First Savings common stock is $33.60 per share. First Merchants anticipates earnings per share accretion of approximately 11% in 2027 (the first full year of combined operations) and a tangible book value earnback
period of 3.0 years.

“We view First Savings Bank as a meaningful addition to our Indiana deposit network,” said Mark Hardwick, CEO
of First Merchants. “Its presence strengthens our southern Indiana growth potential. We are also excited about the opportunities the triple net lease financing, first lien HELOCs and SBA lending verticals will offer by supporting steady,
diversified loan growth across economic cycles.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to First Savings’
shareholder approval, regulatory approvals, and other customary conditions. First Merchants’ shareholder approval is not required. The combined