The cash-and-stock transaction expands Peoples’ footprint in Eastern Kentucky while keeping the combined bank under the $10 billion asset threshold
Peoples Bancorp has agreed to acquire Citizens National Corporation, parent of Citizens Bank of Kentucky, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $76.6 million.
Under the terms, Citizens shareholders will receive 2.10 shares of Peoples common stock plus $8.00 in cash for each share held, equivalent to $78.39 per share based on Peoples’ 20-day volume-weighted average price. Citizens will merge into Peoples, with Citizens Bank subsequently merging into Peoples Bank.
Citizens operates 12 branches across eight counties in Eastern Kentucky, with $686 million in total assets, $342 million in gross loans and $586 million in deposits as of March 31. Peoples, headquartered in Marietta, Ohio, had $9.6 billion in total assets and 144 locations across six states as of the same date.
“Citizens’ low-cost deposits and high level of balance sheet liquidity allow us to not only strengthen the Peoples’ deposit base but to also maintain the flexibility to remain under $10 billion in assets,” said Tyler Wilcox, President and CEO of Peoples. Staying under that threshold matters for regulatory purposes, sparing the combined bank from additional compliance requirements that apply to larger institutions.
Leisha Maynard, President and CEO of Citizens, said the deal would preserve the bank’s community-focused culture while delivering value to shareholders, customers and the communities it serves.
The deal is structured as a tax-free reorganisation and is expected to be immediately accretive to Peoples’ earnings, with a tangible book value earnback of less than one year and an internal rate of return exceeding 20%. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.