Securities Class Action Filed Over Proposed Acquisition of First BancTrust by First Mid-Illinois Bancshares

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A proposed class action has been filed in Delaware against First BancTrust Corporation and its board of directors over alleged securities law violations. The case stems from a proposed acquisition, which was announced in December 2017, of First BancTrust by co-defendant First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. and a subsidiary. The plaintiff alleges the registration statement submitted by the defendants to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the transaction omits material information necessary for First BancTrust stockholders to better understand the purported fairness of the deal. 

The lawsuit alleges the defendants’ registration statement is false and misleading in that it does not disclose, among other items:

• First Bank and First Mid-Illinois Bancshares’ financial projections;
• The quantification and amount of anticipated “cost synergies” expected to result from the proposed transaction, and how they were accounted for in First BancTrust’s financial advisor’s valuation analyses;
• Information regarding any potential conflicts of interest; and
• Information on any post-merger employment offered to First Bank’s executive officers.