Vedder Price is pleased to announce that its client Byline Bancorp, Inc. (Byline), parent company of Byline Bank, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire First Evanston Bancorp, Inc. (First Evanston), parent company of First Bank & Trust, in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $169 million.
At the closing of the transaction each share of First Evanston’s common stock will be converted into the right to receive 3.994 shares of Byline common stock and an amount in cash equal to $27 million divided by the number of outstanding shares of First Evanston common stock at the closing date. Based upon the closing price of Byline’s common stock of $19.73 on November 24, 2017, this represented a fully diluted transaction value of approximately $169 million. The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2018. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, the approval of First Evanston’s and Byline’s shareholders, and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions.
The Vedder Price team of Daniel C. McKay, II, Thomas P. Desmond, Jennifer D. King, James W. Morrissey, Mark C. Svalina and Casey Hicks acted as legal counsel advising Byline on the deal. Vedder Price also represented Byline in its previous bank acquisition, which resulted in Byline acquiring Wisconsin-based Ridgestone Financial Services, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ridgestone Bank, on October 14, 2016. Vedder Price is honored to have assisted Byline in these bank acquisition transactions.
Over the last two years, Vedder Price has assisted in over 20 bank merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate announced deal value exceeding $5.6 billion.