HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) (the "Company" or "HBT Financial" or "HBT"), the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company ("Heartland Bank"), and Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. (OTC:TYFG) ("Tri-County"), the holding company for First State Bank in Mendota, Illinois ("First State Bank"), today jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement pursuant to which Tri-County will merge with and into HBT Financial in a combined common stock/cash transaction valued at approximately $204.6 million, based on HBT Financial’s closing stock price of $36.35 as of August 7, 2026. The combined company will have approximately $8.3 billion in total assets, $6.0 billion in total loans, and approximately $7.1 billion in total deposits, with branch locations across Illinois, eastern Iowa, and suburban St. Louis.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by each company’s board of directors, and shareholders collectively holding approximately 28% of the outstanding shares of Tri-County common stock have entered into voting agreements pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, to vote their shares of Tri-County common stock in favor of the transaction. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval by Tri-County’s shareholders, required regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions.