F&M announces deal to buy Peoples State Bank in Bloomer

The Journal staff

F&M Bancorporation Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire Peoples State Bank of Bloomer in a deal that marks Kaukauna-based F&M's entry into western Wisconsin.

F&M, a $920 million bank holding company, has 43 locations, primarily in northern Wisconsin and the Fox Valley.

Peoples State Bank has $65 million in assets and one office, in Bloomer, 13 miles north of Chippewa Falls.

"We are looking forward to this expansion into western Wisconsin," said Gail E. Janssen, chairman of the board of F&M.

Janssen announced the deal Monday with Ralph J. Werner, president of Peoples State Bank, and James L. Irwin, the bank's chief executive officer.

The transaction allows F&M to expand farther west in Wisconsin, said banking analyst Mike Milunovich of Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee.

"Over the years, F&M has grown fairly rapidly," he said. "This will put them close to the $1 billion mark."

Details of the stock transaction, in which shareholders in Peoples State Bank will receive F&M stock, were not disclosed.

The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, and is expected to be completed within six months.

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