ITEM 1.01. ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT.
On December 11, 2017, TriCo Bancshares, a California corporation (TriCo), and FNB Bancorp, a California corporation (FNBB),
entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization (the Merger Agreement) pursuant to which FNBB will be merged with and into TriCo, with TriCo as the surviving corporation (the Merger). The Merger Agreement
provides that immediately after the Merger, FNBBs bank subsidiary, First National Bank of Northern California (First National Bank), will merge with and into TriCos bank subsidiary, Tri Counties Bank, with Tri Counties Bank
as the surviving bank (the Bank Merger). The Merger and Bank Merger are collectively referred to in this Current Report on Form
8-K
as the Proposed Transaction.
A copy of the Merger Agreement is included as Exhibit 2.1 to this Current Report. A summary of the material terms of the Merger Agreement follows.
Merger Consideration
The Merger Agreement provides that
each share of FNBB common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger will be canceled and converted into the right to receive 0.98 shares of TriCo common stock (the Exchange Ratio), with cash paid
in lieu of fractional shares of TriCo common stock.
Based on the closing price of TriCo common stock of $41.64 on December 8, 2017, the
consideration value was $40.81 per share of FNBB common stock or approximately $315.3 million in aggregate. The value of the merger consideration will fluctuate until closing based on the value of TriCos stock and subject to a trading collar
in certain circumstances. Upon consummation of the Merger, the shareholders of FNBB will own approximately 24% of the combined company.
The Merger
Agreement includes a trading collar that could result in termination of the Merger Agreement or a change to the Exchange Ratio. First, TriCo can elect to terminate the Merger Agreement if both (i) the average share price of TriCo common stock
for the 20 day period up to and including the fifth day prior to the closing date (the Average Closing Share Price) is greater than $49.78, which equals 120% of the average share price of TriCo Stock for the 20
trading-day
period up to and including December 8, 2017, which was $41.48 (the Initial Price) and (ii) TriCo common stock outperforms the KBW Regional Banking Index by more than 20%, unless
FNBB agrees that the Exchange Ratio will be reduced and fewer shares of TriCo common stock will be issued to FNBB shareholders on a per share basis. Conversely, FNBB can terminate the Merger Agreement if both (i) the Average Closing Share Price
is less than $33.18, which is equivalent to 80% of the Initial Price, and (ii) TriCo common stock underperforms the KBW Regional Banking Index by more than 20%, unless TriCo agrees that the Exchange Ratio will be increased and more shares of
TriCo common stock will be issued to FNBB shareholders on a per share basis.
FNBB Options
Upon consummation of the Merger, each outstanding and unexercised option to acquire shares of FNBB common stock will be canceled and, in exchange, the holder
of the option will be entitled to receive, whether or not the option is fully vested, a lump sum cash payment equal to the product of (1) the number of shares of FNBB common stock remaining under the option multiplied by (2) the Exchange
Ratio multiplied by (3) the amount, if any, by which the Average Closing Share Price exceeds the exercise price of the option.
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Potential Termination
The Merger Agreement may be terminated in certain circumstances, including (i) by mutual written consent of the parties, (ii) by either party in the
event, under certain circumstances, that the Merger is not consummated by September 30, 2018, (iii) by either party in the event that any required regulatory approval is denied and such denial has become final and
non-appealable
or if there is a permanent injunction restraining the Merger or the Bank Merger, (iv) by TriCo if any of the required regulatory approvals includes conditions, restrictions or requirements
which the TriCo Board of Directors reasonably determines in good faith would, individually or in the aggregate, materially reduce the economic benefits of the Proposed Transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement to such a degree that TriCo
would not have entered into the Merger Agreement had such conditions, restrictions or requirements been known, (v) by either party if the other party has breached its representations, warranties or covenants set forth in the Merger Agreement in
a manner that would cause the failure of the closing conditions to be satisfied, subject to a
30-day
cure period, (vi) by TriCo if the FNBB Board of Directors has (a) failed to make, or qualified or
modified, its favorable recommendation of the Merger to FNBBs shareholders in a manner adverse to TriCo, (b) recommended, endorsed, accepted or agreed to a competing acquisition proposal, (c) failed to call, give notice of, convene
and hold the FNBB shareholder meeting to approve the Merger, or (d) resolved to do any of the foregoing, or (vii) by TriCo or FNBB based on the trading collar described above, under certain circumstances.
Shareholder Agreements
As an inducement to TriCo to
enter into the Merger Agreement, each director and certain executive officers of FNBB holding an aggregate of approximately 23% of the outstanding FNBB common stock, entered into a shareholder agreement with TriCo and FNBB pursuant to which he or
she agreed, among other things, to vote all shares of FNBB Common Stock beneficially owned by him or her in favor of adoption and approval of the Merger Agreement and any other matters required to be approved for the consummation of the Proposed
Transaction at any meeting of the shareholders of FNBB. These shareholders also agreed to certain restrictions on their ability to transfer their shares of FNBB common stock until at least a majority of all issued and outstanding shares of FNBB
common stock have been irrevocably voted in favor of the Merger, the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby. In addition, subject to certain enumerated exceptions, these shareholders agreed to refrain from competing with TriCo or
soliciting customers and employees of FNBB or its subsidiaries for a period of two (2) years, subject to, and following the completion of the Merger. TriCo has agreed to waive the non-compete provision of the shareholder agreement for
David A. Curtis, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, provided Mr. Curtis remains employed as the Chief Financial Officer of FNBB at the close of the Merger. The shareholder agreement is substantially in the form included as
Exhibit A to the Merger Agreement.
Appointment of Directors
In the Merger Agreement, TriCo has agreed to appoint, effective as of the effective time of the Merger, two current directors of FNBB, each of whom must be
mutually agreeable to TriCo and FNBB, as directors of TriCo and Tri Counties Bank, to serve until TriCos first annual meeting following the Merger. Subject to the fiduciary duties of the TriCo Board of Directors, TriCo is required to nominate
such individuals for reelection as directors at the first annual meeting of shareholders of TriCo following the effective time of the Merger. TriCo and FNBB have not determined which of the FNBB directors will be selected.
Representations and Warranties; Certain Covenants
The
Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties from FNBB to TriCo, which are qualified by the confidential disclosures provided by FNBB to TriCo, and customary representations and warranties from TriCo to FNBB.
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The Merger Agreement requires FNBB to conduct its business in the ordinary and usual course, consistent with past
practice, to preserve its business organization, keep available the present services of its employees and preserve for itself and TriCo the goodwill of the customers of FNBB and others with whom business relations exist.
Conditions to the Proposed Transaction
The consummation
of the Merger is subject to a number of conditions, which include: (i) the approval of the Merger Agreement by FNBBs shareholders and the approval of the Merger Agreement and the issuance of shares of TriCo common stock by TriCos
shareholders; (ii) as of the closing of the Merger, FNBB shall have tangible common equity of not less than $119.0 million, subject to credit for certain merger-related expenses and certain assumptions and adjustments that are set forth in
the Merger Agreement; (iv) the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals for the Proposed Transaction, without the imposition of conditions or requirements that the TriCo Board of Directors reasonably determines in good faith would,
individually or in the aggregate, materially reduce the economic benefits of the Proposed Transaction; (v) the absence of any regulation, judgment, decree, injunction or other order of a governmental authority which prohibits the consummation
of the Proposed Transaction or which prohibits or makes illegal the consummation of the Proposed Transaction; (vi) the effective registration of the shares of TriCo Common Stock to be issued to FNBBs shareholders with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the SEC) and the approval of such shares for listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market; (vii) all representations and warranties made by TriCo and FNBB in the Merger Agreement must remain true and correct,
except for certain inaccuracies that would not have, or would not reasonably be expected to have, a material adverse effect; and (viii) TriCo and FNBB must have performed their respective obligations under the Merger Agreement in all material
respects.
Termination Fee
FNBB must pay TriCo a
$12.0 million termination fee if the Merger Agreement is terminated under certain circumstances set forth in the Merger Agreement.
Expenses of
the Proposed Transaction
Each party will bear all expenses incurred by it in connection with the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated
thereby.
Employment Agreements
TriCo and Tri
Counties Bank have entered into employment agreements with James Black, Anthony Clifford, and Randy Brugioni, of FNBB, which will become effective upon consummation of the Merger. Pursuant to the terms of their employment agreements, Mr. Black
will be employed by Tri Counites Bank as Commercial Lending President San Francisco Region, Mr. Clifford as Regional President San Francisco Region, and Mr. Brugioni as Senior Vice President Senior Credit
Administrator. Mr. Blacks and Mr. Cliffords employment agreements have a one year term and Mr. Brugionis employment agreement has a two year term.
The foregoing description of the Merger Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Merger
Agreement.
The representations, warranties and covenants of each party set forth in the Merger Agreement have been made only for purposes of, were and
are solely for the benefit of the parties to, the Merger Agreement, may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties, including being qualified by
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confidential disclosures made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Merger Agreement instead of establishing these matters as facts, and may be subject to
standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to investors. The Merger Agreement is included with this filing only to provide investors with information regarding the terms of the Merger Agreement,
and not to provide investors with any other factual information regarding TriCo, Tri Counties Bank, FNBB, First National Bank, or their respective affiliates or their respective businesses.