Indiana’s First Financial Corp. to expand by acquiring Tennessee bank

Terre Haute, Ind.-based First Financial Corp. is continuing its Southeast expansion by acquiring Dayton, Tenn.-based SimplyBank for $73.4 million in cash..By acquiring the $702 million bank, $4.8 billion First Financial will grow to $5.5 billion while adding more than a dozen branches and one LPO in Tennessee and George. First Financial Corp. has 70 branches in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee through its subsidiary First Financial Bank. .The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of next year. .The acquisition continues First Financial Corp.'s recent growth in the Southeast. In August 2021, First Financial expanded its Kentucky footprint by acquiring Hawesville-based Hancock Bancorp. In 2019, the company acquired Hopkinsville, Ky.-based HopFed Bancorp for $134 million. ."SimplyBank provides us with an opportunity to deepen our commitment to the Tennessee market while expanding into attractive new MSAs," said First Financial President and CEO Norman Lowery. "We look forward to continuing SimplyBank's commitment to its customers and the communities it serves.".First Financial was advised by St. Petersburg, Fla.-based investment banking firm Raymond James & Associates and Chicago-based law firm Amundsen Davis LLC. SimplyBank was advised by Minneapolis-based investment banking firm Piper Sandler & Co. and Cincinnati-based law firm Frost Brown Todd LLP.