First Financial To Acquire Summit Funding Group For Undisclosed Terms - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Cincinnati-based Summit Funding Group, Inc., the fourth largest independent equipment financing platform in the U.S. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Upon completion of the transaction, Summit will become a subsidiary of First Financial Bank, with current Summit leadership and all associates continuing in their positions, led by Founder and CEO Rick Ross.

As a subsidiary, Summit will continue to operate under the name Summit Funding Group, taking advantage of the company's exceptional brand recognition within the equipment finance industry, particularly with small-to-medium sized businesses.

The transaction is expected to be mid-single-digit accretive to First Financial's earnings per share in the first-year post-integration (2023), and low-double-digit accretive on a run-rate basis thereafter.

The acquisition is consistent with First Financial's exceptional track record of strategically deploying excess capital to acquire and grow additive specialty lines of business in a disciplined manner, contributing to overall growth and delivering strong financial returns to shareholders.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2021.