GREEN BAY—Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. and Charter Bankshares, Inc. announced plans to merge. Under terms of the agreement, Nicolet will acquire Charter and its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Charter Bank.
Charter is a $1.1 billion bank headquartered in Eau Claire, with offices in Chetek, Wisconsin, and Chanhassen and Chaska, Minnesota. A new office is being built in Chippewa Falls.
The combined company will have assets of about $8.8 billion, deposits of $7.3 billion, and loans of $5.4 billion.
“Our banks are culturally similar in that we trust our local people to understand and serve the market,” said Mike Daniels, President and CEO of Nicolet. “The magic of this opportunity is trust in the partnership and the people.”
Bob Atwell, executive chairman of Nicolet, said, “As Nicolet continues to grow, we see the positive impact that the right partner can have on communities and shareholders alike. We are confident that we found the right partner in Charter.”
Charter shareholders will receive approximately 1.26 million shares of Nicolet and a cash payment of approximately $38.8 million. Based on Nicolet’s closing price of $94.40 as of March 29, the merger consideration is valued at approximately $158 million.
Nicolet is expected to appoint Brenda L. Johnson to the boards of directors of Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. and Nicolet National Bank upon the completion of the transaction. Post-merger, Paul Kohler will join Nicolet National Bank and will lead the western Wisconsin and Twin Cities markets. He will also join the senior management team.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. All Charter branches are anticipated to become Nicolet branches. Nicolet’s loan production office in Eau Claire is expected to close and consolidate with continued service out of the legacy Charter office in Eau Claire.
