Pomeroy, Ohio-based Farmers Bank and Savings Co., a subsidiary of Farmers Bancshares Inc., agreed to acquire Nelsonville, Ohio-based Nelsonville Home & Savings Bank, The Athens Messenger reported April 6, citing a joint release.

The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter, according to the report. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The merger will be structured as a merger of Nelsonville Home and Savings Bank into Nelsonville Interim Bank, which is a to-be-formed Ohio interim bank that will be a wholly owned subsidiary of The Farmers Bank and Savings Co., followed immediately by the merger of Nelsonville Home and Savings Bank with and into The Farmers Bank and Savings Co., the report said, citing a release from Farmers Bancshares.

Upon deal completion, Farmers Bancshares Inc. will enter Athens County, Ohio, with one branch to be ranked sixth with a 3.13% share of approximately $983.5 million in total market deposits.

S&P Global Market Intelligence valuations for bank and thrift targets in the Midwest region between April 6, 2022, and April 6, 2023, averaged 142.91% of book and 146.92% of tangible book and had a median of 14.03x last-12-months earnings, on an aggregate basis.

Following completion, the sole branch of Nelsonville Home and Savings Bank will become a branch of The Farmers Bank and Savings Co., the report said.

"We began searching for a merger partner over one year ago in hopes of finding a like-minded community bank [that] could share in the rising cost of technology and help us expand our line of products," said Steve Cox, chairman of Nelsonville Home & Savings Bank, in the report.

"This merger gives us a partner that, like us, has carefully safeguarded [its] customers' deposits and has been successfully engaged in lending to consumers, farmers, and small business people for many years in communities much like Nelsonville."

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