UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported):

December 11, 2017

FIRST MID-ILLINOIS BANCSHARES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

(217) 234-7454

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[x] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17CFR 230.425)

[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17CFR 240.14a-12)

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b–2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

On December 11, 2017, First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company”) and Project Hawks Merger Sub Corp., a newly formed Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with First BancTrust Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“First Bank”), pursuant to which, among other things, the Company agreed to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of First Bank pursuant to a business combination whereby Merger Sub will merge with and into First Bank, with First Bank as the surviving entity and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Merger”).

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of First Bank issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger (other than shares held in treasury by First Bank and shares held by stockholders who have properly made and not withdrawn a demand for appraisal rights under Delaware law) will be converted into and become the right to receive, (a) $5.00 in cash and (b) 0.800 shares of common stock, par value $4.00 per share, of the Company and cash in lieu of fractional shares, less any applicable taxes required to be withheld and subject to certain adjustments, all as set forth in the Merger Agreement.

It is anticipated that First Bank’s wholly-owned bank subsidiary, First Bank & Trust, IL (“First Bank & Trust”), will be merged with and into the Company’s wholly-owned bank subsidiary First Mid-Illinois Bank & Trust, N.A. (“First Mid Bank”) at a date following completion of the Merger. At the time of the bank merger, First Bank & Trust’s banking offices will become branches of First Mid Bank. As of September 30, 2017, First Bank had total consolidated assets of $465.6 million, loans of $368.2 million and total deposits of $377.8 million.

The Merger Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of both parties and customary conditions to the parties’ obligations to close the transaction, as well as agreements to cooperate in the process of consummating the transaction. The Merger Agreement also contains provisions limiting the activities of First Bank and First Bank & Trust which are outside of the usual course of business, including restrictions on employee compensation, certain acquisitions and dispositions of assets and liabilities, and solicitations relating to alternative acquisition proposals, pending completion of the Merger.

The Merger is anticipated to be completed in mid-2018, and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions in the Merger Agreement and the approval of the appropriate regulatory authorities and of the stockholders of First Bank. Certain directors of First Bank have executed a voting agreement in which they have agreed to vote their shares of First Bank common stock in favor of approval of the Merger Agreement.

The information set forth above does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Merger Agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. The representations, warranties and covenants of each party set forth in the Merger Agreement have been made only for purposes of, and were and are solely for the benefit of, the contracting parties, and are qualified by 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. Accordingly, the representations and warranties may not describe the actual state of affairs at the date they were made or at any other time and investors should not rely on them as statements of fact. In addition, such representations and warranties (i) will not survive the consummation of the Merger and (ii) were made only as of the date of the Merger Agreement or such other date as is specified in the Merger Agreement. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in the parties’ public disclosures. Accordingly, 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 the Company or First Bank, their respective affiliates or their respective businesses. The Merger Agreement should not be read alone, but should instead be read in conjunction with the other information regarding, the Company, First Bank, their respective affiliates or their respective businesses, the Merger Agreement and the Merger that will be contained in, or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of First Bank and a prospectus of the Company that the Company will file with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as well as in the Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other documents that the Company files with or furnishes to the SEC.

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement discussed in Item 1.01 above, the Company and First Bank issued a joint press release on December 11, 2017. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

In addition, from time to time on and after December 11, 2017, the Company and First Bank intend to provide supplemental information regarding the proposed transaction to analysts and investors in connection with certain presentations. A copy of the supplementary information is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and incorporated herein by reference.

Forward Looking Statements

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements about First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, Inc. (“First Mid”) and First BancTrust Corporation (“First Bank”), such as discussions of First Mid’s and First Bank’s pricing and fee trends, credit quality and outlook, liquidity, new business results, expansion plans, anticipated expenses and planned schedules. First Mid and First Bank intend 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 1955. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations of First Mid and First Bank, are identified by use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” or similar expressions. Actual results could differ materially from the results indicated by these statements because the realization of those results is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the proposed transactions between First Mid and First Bank will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; the risk that integration of the operations of First Bank with First Mid will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected; the inability to complete the proposed transactions due to the failure to obtain the required stockholder approval; the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the proposed transactions, including receipt of required regulatory and other approvals; the failure of the proposed transactions to close for any other reason; the effect of the announcement of the transaction on customer relationships and operating results; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; changes in interest rates; general economic conditions and those in the market areas of First Mid and First Bank; 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 or composition of First Mid’s and First Bank’s loan or investment portfolios and the valuation of those investment portfolios; demand for loan products; deposit flows; competition, demand for financial services in the market areas of First Mid and First Bank; and accounting principles, policies and guidelines. Additional information concerning First Mid, including additional factors and risks that could materially affect First Mid’s financial results, are included in First Mid’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required under the federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Important Information about the Merger and Additional Information

First Mid will file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a proxy statement of First Bank that also constitutes a prospectus of First Mid, which will be sent to the stockholders of First Bank. Investors in First Bank are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus, which will contain important information, including detailed risk factors, when it becomes available. The proxy statement/prospectus and other documents which will be filed by First Mid with the SEC will be available free of charge at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, or by directing a request when such a filing is made to First Mid-Illinois Bancshares, P.O. Box 499, Mattoon, IL 61938, Attention: Investor Relations; or to First BancTrust Corporation., 114 West Church Street, Champaign, IL 61824, Attention: Investor Relations. A final proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to the stockholders of First Bank.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Participants in the Solicitation

First Mid and First Bank, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees are participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transactions. Information about the directors and executive officers of First Mid is set forth in the proxy statement for its 2017 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 14, 2017. Information about the directors and executive officers of First Bank is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2017 annual meeting of stockholders, which is available on its website. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of such participants in the proposed transactions by reading the proxy statement/prospectus for such proposed transactions when it becomes available.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

*Certain schedules have been omitted pursuant to Section 6.01(b)(2) of Regulation S-K.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

FIRST MID-ILLINOIS BANCSHARES, INC.

Dated: December 11, 2017

Joseph R. Dively

By:

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer