CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Busey
Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Main Street Trust, Inc. (OTC:MSTI)
(BULLETIN BOARD: MSTI) , the parent companies of longtime friendly
competitors Main Street Bank & Trust of Champaign, IL and Busey
Bank of Urbana, IL have signed a definitive agreement to join
forces in a merger of equals. "This true merger of equals allows us
to continue to emphasize our commitment to local decision-making
and community commitment for which both organizations have been
noted," described Douglas C. Mills, Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer of First Busey Corporation. Van A. Dukeman,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Main Street Trust, Inc.
joins Mills in these statements, which will also be delivered at
news conferences scheduled in each of the bank's Central Illinois
core markets of Champaign County, Macon County, McLean County and
Peoria. "The strategic benefits to customers and shareholders are
significant, and we are excited about the opportunities the unified
organization offers. Busey and Main Street are two brands that
define premier banking in Central Illinois. We expect to build upon
our proud histories of shared beliefs, common practices, and the
deep respect and close personal relationships that exist among many
directors, executives, associates, and customers of both
organizations." "This business combination of the two major local
financial companies based in Central Illinois will be a significant
positive to all of our constituencies, including our shareholders,
customers, associates and the downstate communities we serve,"
commented Dukeman. "For example, our customers will soon have
'surcharge free' access to more than 120 ATM locations and 45
full-service banking centers to conduct their banking business."
Under terms of the agreement, Main Street shareholders will receive
shares of First Busey common stock, using a fixed exchange ratio of
1.55 shares of First Busey common stock for each share of Main
Street common stock. The combined company will operate under the
name First Busey Corporation and will continue to list its common
stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and trade under the symbol
BUSE. Upon closing, the principal offices of First Busey
Corporation will be located at 100 West University Avenue,
Champaign, Illinois. The combined company will be governed by a
board of directors comprised of ten directors, five from each
institution. Douglas C. Mills will continue in the role of Chairman
of the Board of First Busey until the corporation's 2009 annual
meeting, at which time Gregory B. Lykins, currently Chairman of the
Board of Main Street Trust, Inc., is expected to succeed him.
Lykins and Edwin A. Scharlau II, currently Vice Chairman of First
Busey Corporation, will serve as vice chairmen. Van A. Dukeman will
be President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined
corporation. The merger is subject to regulatory approval, as well
as approval by First Busey and Main Street shareholders and other
customary conditions. The transaction is expected to be completed
during the second quarter of 2007. Following the merger of the two
holding companies, plans are set to merge their Illinois-based
banking subsidiaries, Busey Bank and Main Street Bank & Trust.
The two banks will be merged under Busey Bank's state charter, and
the bank name will remain Busey Bank. Van A. Dukeman will serve as
Chairman of the Board of the resultant bank, and Lee H. O'Neill
will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. P. David Kuhl,
currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Busey Bank, has
resigned his officer positions. The new holding company, First
Busey Corporation, will have total assets of approximately $4.1
billion. The merged bank will have total assets of approximately
$3.6 billion and total deposits exceeding $2.7 billion. Assets
under care for the combined organization will be approximately $4.5
billion, following the merger of Main Street Wealth Management with
the Busey Investment Group as a separate subsidiary that also
includes First Busey Securities, Inc., First Busey Trust &
Investment Co. and Busey Insurance Services. Curt A. Anderson,
currently President of the Busey Investment Group, and Donna R.
Greene, President of Main Street's Wealth Management Division, will
be co-managing directors of the Busey Investment Group under the
merged entity. Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc. acted as
financial advisor and provided a fairness opinion to First Busey
Corporation in connection with this transaction. Sandler O'Neill
& Partners, L.P. performed similar services for Main Street
Trust, Inc. Chapman and Cutler LLP provided legal services for
First Busey, and Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum Perlman &
Nagelberg LLP acted as legal counsel for Main Street. Howe Barnes
Hoefer & Arnett, Inc. is the principal market maker for both
First Busey Corporation and Main Street Trust, Inc. Additional
Information About The Companies Main Street Trust, Inc. is a
diversified financial holding company headquartered in Champaign,
Illinois with $1.6 billion in assets as of June 30, 2006, providing
financial services at 23 locations in Downstate Illinois. Main
Street Bank & Trust operates banking centers in five primary
market areas, which include Champaign County, Macon County, McLean
County, Shelby County and Peoria. Main Street Bank & Trust
delivers online banking services through its website, (
http://www.mainstreettrust.com/ ). Main Street customers receive
surcharge free ATM access at over 80 locations throughout Illinois.
In addition, Main Street Wealth Management has $2.2 billion of
financial assets under care, offering services which include asset
management, trust and estate planning, farm management and employee
benefits planning. Main Street Trust, Inc. also owns a retail
payment processing subsidiary -- FirsTech, Inc., which processes
over 25 million items per year. Headquartered in Decatur, Illinois,
FirsTech announced in 2006 its plans to expand sales and service
operations in the St. Louis market. First Busey Corporation is a
financial holding company headquartered in Urbana, Illinois. First
Busey Corporation has two wholly-owned banking subsidiaries with
locations in three states. Busey Bank is headquartered in Urbana,
Illinois, with twenty-two banking centers serving Champaign,
McLean, Ford, Peoria, and Tazewell Counties in Illinois. Busey Bank
also has a banking center in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a loan
production office in Ft. Myers, Florida. On June 30, 2006, Busey
Bank had total assets of $1.9 billion. Busey Bank N.A. is a
nationally-chartered bank headquartered in Port Charlotte, Florida,
with nine banking centers serving Lee, Charlotte, and Sarasota
Counties in Southwest Florida. Busey Bank N.A. had total assets of
$432 million as of June 30, 2006. Busey provides electronic
delivery of financial services through Busey e-bank,
http://www.busey.com/ . Busey Investment Group is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of First Busey Corporation and owns three subsidiaries.
First Busey Trust & Investment Co. specializes in asset
management and trust services. First Busey Securities, Inc. (member
NASD/SIPC) is a full-service broker/dealer subsidiary. Busey
Insurance Services, Inc. is a provider of personal insurance
products. Busey Investment Group has approximately $2.3 billion in
assets under care. Additional Information About This Transaction In
connection with the merger, First Busey will file a registration
statement, which will include a joint proxy statement/prospectus to
be sent to each company's shareholders, Main Street will file the
joint proxy statement, and each of First Busey and Main Street may
file other relevant documents concerning the merger with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Shareholders are
urged to read the registration statement and the joint proxy
statement/prospectus regarding the merger when they become
available and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, as
well as any amendments or supplements to those documents, because
they will contain important information. You will be able to obtain
a free copy of the joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as
other filings containing information about First Busey and Main
Street, at the SEC's website ( http://www.sec.gov/ ). You will also
be able to obtain these documents, free of charge, by accessing
First Busey's website ( http://www.busey.com/ ), or by accessing
Main Street's website ( http://www.mainstreettrust.com/ ). Copies
can also be obtained, free of charge, by directing a request to
First Busey Corporation, attn: Barbara J. Harrington, 201 W. Main
Street, Urbana, IL 61801, telephone number: (217) 365-4556; or to
Main Street Trust, Inc., attn: David B. White, 100 West University
Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, telephone number: (217) 351-6500.
First Busey and Main Street and their respective directors and
executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of First Busey and/or
Main Street in connection with the merger. Information about the
directors and executive officers of First Busey is set forth in the
proxy statement for First Busey's 2006 annual meeting of
shareholders, as filed with the SEC on March 29, 2006. Information
about the directors and executive officers of Main Street is set
forth in the proxy statement for Main Street's 2006 annual meeting
of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on April 12, 2006.
Additional information regarding the interests of those
participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in
the transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy
statement/prospectus regarding the merger when it becomes
available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as
described above. Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This release contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Act of 1934 as amended. These include statements as to
the benefits of the merger, including future financial and
operating results, cost savings, enhanced revenues and the
accretion/dilution to reported earnings that may be realized from
the merger as well as other statements of expectations regarding
the merger and any other statements regarding future results or
expectations. Each of First Busey and Main Street intends such
forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor
provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this
statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions.
Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions
and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of each of
First Busey and Main Street, are generally identified by the use of
words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate,"
"estimate," or "project" or similar expressions. The companies'
respective ability to predict results, or the actual effect of
future plans or strategies, is inherently uncertain. Factors which
could have a material adverse effect on the operations and future
prospects of each of First Busey and Main Street and their
respective subsidiaries include, but are not limited to: the risk
that the businesses of First Busey and/or Main Street in connection
with the merger will not be integrated successfully or such
integration may be more difficult, time- consuming or costly than
expected; expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the
merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected
time frame; revenues following the merger may be lower than
expected; customer and employee relationships and business
operations may be disrupted by the merger; the ability to obtain
required governmental and shareholder approvals, and the ability to
complete the merger on the expected timeframe; changes in interest
rates, general economic conditions, legislative/regulatory changes,
monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, including
policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board; the
quality and composition of the loan or securities portfolios;
demand for loan products; deposit flows; competition; demand for
financial services in the companies' respective market areas; their
implementation of new technologies; their ability to develop and
maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; and accounting
principles, policies, and guidelines. These risks and uncertainties
should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and
undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. DATASOURCE:
First Busey Corporation; Main Street Trust, Inc. CONTACT: Van A.
Dukeman, President-CEO of Main Street Trust, Inc., +1-217-351-6568,
or Douglas C. Mills, Chairman-CEO of First Busey Corporation,
+1-217-365-4512 Web site: http://www.busey.com/
http://www.mainstreettrust.com/
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