First Illinois Corporation to Acquire Hickory Point Bank & Trust

Transaction will maintain local jobs, customer services

DECATUR, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Illinois Corporation has reached an agreement with Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) to acquire a majority interest in Hickory Point Bank & Trust, fsb., a community bank headquartered in Decatur, Ill., with seven branch locations throughout Central Illinois. First Illinois Corporation, also headquartered in Decatur, Ill., is led by current Hickory Point Bank & Trust management and was formed for the sole purpose of acquiring the bank. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2011. The bank will retain the Hickory Point Bank & Trust name.

“Hickory Point Bank & Trust is among the most well-respected financial institutions in Central Illinois,” said Anthony Nestler, executive vice president, Hickory Point Bank & Trust. “The bank’s management team will continue to offer customers the high level of service Hickory Point Bank has provided for years.” Nestler is a member of the bank’s senior management team and will be named president and chief executive officer of Hickory Point Bank & Trust once the transaction is completed.

The First Illinois Corporation management team also includes current Hickory Point Bank & Trust officials Doug Schmalz, Brett Swallow and Leon Mizeur. Corydon C. Nicholson, the current president of Hickory Point Bank & Trust, has decided to not join the new management team and will remain with ADM.

The management team has reached a long-term service agreement with ADM, and ADM will remain a key customer. ADM will also retain minority ownership interest in the financial institution for an undetermined period of time.

“We continually review our business strategies, and the decision was made to sell majority interest in Hickory Point Bank & Trust because we can receive the necessary banking services without owning the bank,” said Steve Mills, ADM senior executive vice president, Performance and Growth. “This transaction allows us to redeploy our capital in new ways to help continue to grow our business.”

“In seeking new ownership, we sought to find a company that would maintain Hickory Point Bank & Trust as a community bank and preserve local jobs,” said Mills. “We believe First Illinois Corporation will carry out this vision and continue our commitment to the security and soundness of the institution.”

ADM purchased Eagle State Bank, with assets of $8.5 million, in 1986, and renamed it Hickory Point Bank & Trust. Today, the Federally Chartered Savings Bank has assets of $864 million and seven branch locations in Illinois, including Forsyth, Mt. Zion, Champaign, Springfield and three locations in Decatur.

About ADM

Every day, the 29,000 people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) turn crops into renewable products that meet the demands of a growing world. At more than 240 processing plants, we convert corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. We operate the world’s premier crop origination and transportation network, connecting crops and markets in more than 60 countries. Our global headquarters is in Decatur, Illinois, and our net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, were $62 billion. For more information about our company and our products, visit www.adm.com.

Archer Daniels Midland Company
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