The deal will see LaPorte Bancorp and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The LaPorte Savings Bank, merged with and into Horizon’s wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Horizon Bank.
Horizon chairman and chief executive officer Craig Dwight said: "We are very pleased to have received these regulatory approvals to complete the merger and that the approval process went smoothly and efficiently.
"This helps keep us on target to complete the merger by our original target date of July 2016," continued Dwight.
LaPorte Bancorp president and chief financial officer Michele Thompson stated: "I am extremely happy with the progress being made by both The LaPorte Savings Bank and Horizon Bank integration teams, and we are pleased that these regulatory approvals have been obtained in such a timely fashion. I am confident that our teams will continue to work well together, meeting the anticipated closing date of the merger."
The merger is expected to be completed in July 2016 and remains subject to approval by LaPorte Bancorp’s stockholders as well as the satisfaction of various other closing conditions.
LaPorte Bancorp will hold its special meeting of stockholders to approve the merger on Monday, 11 July 2016, at 5:00 PM, local time, at the main office of The LaPorte Savings Bank located at 710 Indiana Avenue, LaPorte, Indiana 46350.
Additionally, Horizon and LaPorte Bancorp announced that the election deadline for LaPorte Bancorp stockholders to elect the type of merger consideration they will receive, subject to allocation and proration procedures, is 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on 8 July 2016.
The merger agreement provides that 65% of the outstanding shares of LaPorte Bancorp common stock will be exchanged for Horizon common stock and 35% of the outstanding shares of LaPorte Bancorp common stock will be exchanged for cash.
When the elections of all LaPorte Bancorp stockholders have been received, Horizon will determine the exact amount of cash and/or shares of Horizon common stock to be distributed to LaPorte Bancorp stockholders based on their election choices and the proration procedures described in the merger agreement and the proxy statement/prospectus.
