HBT Financial in Illinois to buy Tri-County Financial Group

Bloomington, Ill.-based HBT Financial is expanding in the central part of the state and Chicago area by acquiring Tri-County Financial Group, Mendota, Ill., for $204.6 million..The merger, expected to close in the first quarter of next year, will result in a combined company with $8.3 billion in assets, $6 billion in total loans and $7.1 billion in total deposits. The bank will have branches in Illinois, eastern Iowa and suburban St. Louis. Tri-County Financial Group is the holding company for First State Bank in Mendota, Ill. A $1.6 billion bank, First State Bank has 19 branches in central and northern Illinois along with $1.3 billion in total loans and $1.3 billion in total deposits. HBT Financial is the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company. The $6.7 billion HBT Financial also has $4.8 billion in loans and $5.8 billion in deposits. The deal is HBT Financial’s 12th since 2007. Most recently, the company acquired CNB Bank Shares, in a deal that closed in March. Vedder Price P.C., Chicago, was legal counsel to HBT Financial, while Minneapolis-based Piper Sandler & Co. was financial advisor. Chicago-based Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP was legal counsel to Tri-County Financial Group, while Performance Trust Capital Partners LLC, Chicago, was financial advisor to Tri-County.