First Busey, Main Street to Divest Five Locations
12 Juin 2007 - 4:43PM
PR Newswire (US)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill., June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Busey
Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Main Street Trust, Inc. (OTC:MSTI)
(BULLETIN BOARD: MSTI) , announced today that they have reached a
joint agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to sell the
following five branches located in the Champaign County market:
1611 South Prospect and 631 E. Green Street located in Champaign;
1819-A Philo Road and 410 N. Broadway in Urbana; and a branch in
the Eastwood Shopping Center in Mahomet. These five branches have
combined deposits of approximately $110 million as of June 30,
2006. As of March 31, 2007, the companies on a combined basis had
total deposits of approximately $3.3 billion. The parties expect
that the agreement will allow them to receive the required
regulatory approval for the proposed merger from the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve and that they will be able to
proceed toward closing. "We have worked hard with the Department of
Justice to reach an accord that we feel is reasonable and equitable
under the circumstances," said Van A. Dukeman, Main Street's
President and CEO. "Our customers and employees are our highest
priority during this divestiture process and we want to assure them
and the communities we serve that we are going to work very hard to
minimize any impact of this process on all those concerned. The
combined organization will work to continue the strong community
presence of both Main Street and First Busey." Douglas C. Mills,
First Busey Chairman and CEO commented that "the First Busey/Main
Street merger is very positive news for the community. While we
certainly would have preferred to retain all of the branches
following the merger, the companies have over-lapping branches in
each of the areas affected by the divestiture. We do not expect the
divestitures to significantly affect the combined company's
footprint going forward. Once the merger is completed, the combined
organization is expected to have fourteen full-service banking
centers throughout the Champaign County market." First Busey and
Main Street further agreed that they will not close the merger
until a definitive sales agreement is signed with a suitable buyer
as determined by the Department of Justice and Federal Reserve.
Potential buyers of the locations have been identified and it is
anticipated that the signing of an agreement will be announced as
soon as practicable. The sale of the locations will be contingent
on the completion of the proposed merger between First Busey and
Main Street, which is anticipated to close following the execution
of the definitive agreement to sell the required branches as
indicated above. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this
press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These may
include statements as to the benefits of the merger, including
future financial and operating results, cost savings, enhanced
revenues and the accretion/dilution to reported earnings that may
be realized from the merger as well as other statements of
expectations regarding the merger and any other statements
regarding future results or expectations. Each of First Busey and
Main Street intends such forward-looking statements to be covered
by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements
contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor
provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain
assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations
of each of First Busey and Main Street, are generally identified by
the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "intend,"
"anticipate," "estimate," or "project" or similar expressions. The
companies' respective ability to predict results, or the actual
effect of future plans or strategies, is inherently uncertain.
Factors which could have a material adverse effect on the
operations and future prospects of each of First Busey and Main
Street and their respective subsidiaries include, but are not
limited to: the risk that the businesses of First Busey and/or Main
Street in connection with the merger will not be integrated
successfully or such integration may be more difficult,
time-consuming or costly than expected; expected revenue synergies
and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or
realized within the expected time frame; revenues following the
merger may be lower than expected; customer and employee
relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the
merger; the ability to obtain required governmental approvals, and
the ability to complete the merger on the expected timeframe;
changes in interest rates, general economic conditions,
legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the
U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the
Federal Reserve Board; the quality and composition of the loan or
securities portfolios; demand for loan products; deposit flows;
competition; demand for financial services in the companies'
respective market areas; their implementation of new technologies;
their ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable
electronic systems; and accounting principles, policies, and
guidelines. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in
evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not
be placed on such statements. Corporate Profile About Main Street
Main Street Trust, Inc. is a diversified financial services company
with $1.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2007, providing
financial services at 23 locations in Downstate Illinois. Main
Street Bank & Trust offers online banking
(http://www.mainstreettrust.com/) and surcharge free ATM access at
over 80 locations throughout Illinois. In addition, Main Street
Wealth Management has $2.3 billion of financial assets under
management for individuals and institutions. Main Street Trust,
Inc. also owns a retail payment processing subsidiary-FirsTech,
Inc., which processes over 25 million items per year. About First
Busey First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) is a financial holding
company headquartered in Urbana, Illinois. First Busey Corporation
has two wholly-owned banking subsidiaries with locations in three
states. Busey Bank is headquartered in Urbana, Illinois and has
twenty-two banking centers serving Champaign, McLean, Ford, Peoria,
and Tazewell Counties in Illinois. Busey Bank also has a banking
center in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a loan production office in
Ft. Myers, Florida. On March 31, 2007, Busey Bank had total assets
of $2.0 billion. On July 29, 2005, First Busey Corporation acquired
Tarpon Coast Bancorp, Inc. and its primary subsidiary, Tarpon Coast
National Bank, Port Charlotte, Florida. Busey Bank Florida and
Tarpon Coast National Bank merged at the close of business on
February 17, 2006, and the resultant bank is Busey Bank, N.A. Busey
Bank N.A. is headquartered in Port Charlotte, Florida, with nine
banking centers serving Lee, Charlotte, and Sarasota Counties in
Southwest Florida. Busey Bank N.A. had total assets of $451 million
as of March 31, 2007. Busey provides electronic delivery of
financial services through Busey e-bank, http://www.busey.com/.
Busey Investment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Busey
Corporation and owns three subsidiaries. First Busey Trust &
Investment Co. specializes in asset management and trust services.
First Busey Securities, Inc. (member NASD/SIPC) is a full-service
broker/dealer subsidiary. Busey Insurance Services, Inc. is a
provider of personal insurance products. Busey Investment Group has
approximately $2.4 billion in assets under care. First Busey
Corporation's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange
under the symbol "BUSE." First Busey Corporation has a repurchase
program in effect under which it is authorized to purchase up to
750,000 shares of stock. DATASOURCE: Main Street Trust, Inc.
CONTACT: Van A. Dukeman, President-CEO of Main Street Trust, Inc.,
+1-217-351-6568; or Douglas C. Mills, Chairman-CEO of First Busey
Corporation, +1-217-365-4512 Web site:
http://www.mainstreettrust.com/ http://www.busey.com/
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