PENDING ACQUISITION

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2018

PENDING ACQUISITION [Abstract]

PENDING ACQUISITION

NOTE  8 – PENDING ACQUISITION

On April 18, 2018, Premier Financial Bancorp, Inc. (“Premier”) entered into a material definitive merger agreement (the “Merger Agreement”) with First Bank of Charleston, Inc. (“First Bank”), a $180 million bank (as of June 30, 2018) headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia whereby Premier will acquire First Bank in exchange for a combination of cash and Premier common stock currently valued at approximately $33.0 million.

Under terms of the definitive agreement, First Bank shareholders will be entitled to a combination of Premier common stock and cash currently valued at approximately $32.00 per First Bank share, or an aggregate value of $33.0 million, including $5.00 per share in cash from Premier and a $5.00 per share special dividend from First Bank.  Under a floating exchange ratio, Premier would issue approximately 1.165 million shares in the acquisition assuming Premier’s closing price of $19.51 per share (the weighted average of daily closing trade price of Premier common stock during the 20 consecutive trading days ending on July 23, 2018.)  The transaction, which is subject to satisfaction of various contractual conditions, requires approval by bank regulatory agencies and the shareholders of First Bank and approval of Premier shareholders for the issuance of shares.  Premier’s registration statement on Form S-4 became effective on July 27, 2018.  The transaction is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2018 with a systems conversion anticipated to be completed soon thereafter.