MainSource Financial Group, Inc. (MSFG)

MainSource Financial Group, Inc. was a bank holding company based in Greensburg, Indiana. Through MainSource Bank it ran a community banking network of roughly 90 branches across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky, offering checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, and trust and wealth management services. The company served many small towns and rural communities, where it was often one of the largest local lenders and deposit gatherers.

The company grew largely by acquiring smaller community banks in small and mid-sized Midwestern towns. Its common stock traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker MSFG, and by 2017 it had about $4.6 billion in assets. Its acquisitions were usually small, adding branches in nearby markets, and the company kept a conservative lending profile focused on local businesses and households.

In July 2017 MainSource agreed to merge with First Financial Bancorp, the Cincinnati-based parent of First Financial Bank, in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $1 billion. The deal combined two banks with overlapping footprints in Indiana and Ohio and created a regional lender with nearly $14 billion in assets. The companies expected cost savings from closing overlapping branches and combining back-office operations, and from spreading technology spending across a larger base.

The merger closed at the start of April 2018. Each MainSource share was converted into 1.3875 shares of First Financial common stock, MainSource Bank was merged into First Financial Bank, and MSFG shares stopped trading. Former MainSource customers joined a network of nearly 150 banking centers. The combined bank continued to operate under the First Financial name across its four-state footprint.