Wintrust to acquire First Community Financial

ROSEMONT - Wintrust Financial Corp. said it will acquire First Community Financial Corp., the parent company of First Community Bank, in a transaction valued at approximately $30.3 million.

First Community Bank, which had approximately $178 million in assets, approximately $79 million in loans and approximately $155 million in deposits, operates two banking locations in Elgin.

"This transaction provides a wonderful opportunity to expand and complement our market presence in Elgin, Illinois," said Wintrust President and CEO Edward J. Wehmer. "We look forward to continuing with the community banking approach that First Community Bank has established and to providing its customer base with an expanded array of products and services."

Thomas M. Johannesen, CEO of First Community Bank, said by joining forces with Wintrust, "the transaction allows us to continue focusing on serving our customers, while at the same time providing our customers with access to a wider range of products and services. We clearly see benefits for our customers and shareholders and we look forward to joining the Wintrust family."

"This is a great opportunity to partner with a successful organization that is like-minded in its philosophy of offering highly personalized customer-oriented retail and commercial banking services with financial capabilities to support further expansion," Johannesen added.

Hovde Group, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to FCFC in the transaction and provided a fairness opinion to its board of directors. Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP acted as FCFC's legal advisor and Schiff Hardin LLP served as outside counsel to Wintrust.