Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-11-06
Form Type: 424B3
Source: 0001193125-25-268801
Chunk: 218

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-11-06
Form: 424B3
Chunk 218
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ERICAS, 6TH FLOOR                     
 NEW YORK, NY 10020 P 212                                   
 466-7800 I TF 800 635-6851 Piper Sandler & Co. Since 1895. 
 Member SIPC and NYSE.                                      |

September 24, 2025 Board of Directors First Savings Financial Group, Inc. 702 North Shore Drive, Suite 300 Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Ladies and Gentlemen: First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (“ First Savings”) and First Merchants Corporation (“ First Merchants”) are proposing to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “ Agreement”) pursuant to which First Savings will, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, merge with and into First Merchants (the “ Merger”) so that First Merchants is the surviving corporation in the Merger. As set forth in the Agreement, at the Effective Time, each share of First Savings Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, except for certain shares of First Savings Common Stock as specified in the Agreement, shall be entitled to receive 0.85 (the “ Exchange Ratio”) of a share of First Merchants Common Stock. Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Agreement. You have requested our opinion as to the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Exchange Ratio to the holders of First Savings Common Stock. Piper Sandler & Co. (“ Piper Sandler”, “ we” or “ our”), as part of its investment banking business, is regularly engaged in the valuation of financial institutions and their securities in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. In connection with this opinion, we have reviewed and considered, among other things: (i) a draft of the Agreement, dated September 23, 2025; (ii) certain publicly available financial statements and other historical financial information of First Savings that we deemed relevant; (iii) certain publicly available financial statements and other historical financial information of First Merchants that we deemed relevant; (iv) internal financial projections for First Savings for the years ending December 31, 2025 through December 31, 2029 as well as estimated dividends per share for First Savings for the years ending December 31, 2025 through December 31, 2029, as provided by the senior management of First Savings; (v) publicly available mean analyst estimates for First Merchants for the quarters ending September 30, 2025