425 1 efsc8-k2021announcement.htm MERGER ANNOUNCEMENT 425 Document

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) 
April 26, 2021
ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware001-1537343-1706259
(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)		(Commission
File Number)		(IRS Employer
Identification No.)
150 N. Meramec Avenue,St. Louis,Missouri63105
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code 
(314) 725-5500
Not applicable 
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report) 

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:
☒    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per shareEFSCNasdaq Global Select Market

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 8.01 Other Events

On April 26, 2021, Enterprise Financial Services Corp (Nasdaq: EFSC), a Delaware corporation, or Enterprise, the holding company of Enterprise Bank & Trust, a Missouri state-chartered trust company with banking powers, or EB&T, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, or the Merger Agreement, with First Choice Bancorp, a California corporation, or First Choice, and the holding company of First Choice Bank, a California-chartered commercial bank, or FCB. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

In connection with the announcement of the Merger Agreement, Enterprise intends to provide supplemental information regarding the proposed transaction in connection with presentations to analysts and investors. The slides that will be made available in connection with the presentations are attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)     Exhibits.

Exhibit     
Number    Description

104        The cover page of this Current Report on Form 8-K, formatted in Inline XBRL


Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K may be considered forward-looking statements regarding Enterprise, including its wholly-owned subsidiary EB&T, First Choice, including its wholly-owned subsidiary FCB, and Enterprise’s proposed acquisition of First Choice and FCB. These forward-looking statements may include: statements regarding the acquisition, the consideration payable in connection with the acquisition, and the ability of the parties to consummate the acquisition. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “pro forma” and other similar words and expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions and uncertainties, actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those that Enterprise anticipated in its forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the possibility: that expected benefits of the acquisition may not materialize in the timeframe expected or at all, or may be more costly to achieve; that the acquisition may not be timely completed, if at all; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive transaction agreement; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Enterprise or First Choice; that prior to the completion of the acquisition or thereafter, Enterprise’s and First Choice’s respective businesses may not perform as expected due to transaction-related uncertainty or other factors; that the parties are unable to successfully implement integration strategies; that required regulatory, Enterprise shareholder or First Choice shareholder or other approvals are not obtained or other closing conditions are not satisfied in a timely manner or at all; that adverse regulatory conditions may be imposed in connection with regulatory


approvals of the acquisition; reputational risks and the reaction of the companies’ employees or customers to the transaction; diversion of management time on acquisition-related issues; that the COVID-19 pandemic, including uncertainty and volatility in financial, commodities and other markets, and disruptions to banking and other financial activity, could harm Enterprise and First Choice’s business, financial position and results of operations, and could adversely affect the timing and anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition; and those factors and risks referenced from time to time in Enterprise’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, including in Enterprise’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, its other filings with the SEC. For any forward-looking statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K or in any documents, Enterprise claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers in this document are used for illustrative purposes only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.

Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, Enterprise disclaims any obligation to revise or publicly release any revision or update to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.

Additional Information About the Acquisition and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed acquisition transaction, along with other relevant documents, a registration statement on Form S-4 will be filed with the SEC that will include a joint proxy statement/prospectus to be distributed to the shareholders of Enterprise and First Choice in connection with their votes on the acquisition. SHAREHOLDERS OF ENTERPRISE AND FIRST CHOICE ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, INCLUDING THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS THAT WILL BE PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATTERS. FREE COPIES OF THESE DOCUMENTS MAY BE OBTAINED AS DESCRIBED BELOW.

The final joint proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Enterprise and First Choice. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain the documents, and any other documents Enterprise has filed with the SEC, free of charge at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. In addition, documents filed with the SEC by Enterprise in connection with the proposed acquisition will be available free of charge by (1) accessing Enterprise’s website at www.enterprisebank.com under the “Investor Relations” link, (2) writing Enterprise at 150 North Meramec, Clayton, Missouri 63105, Attention: Investor Relations, (3) accessing First Choice’s website at https://investors.firstchoicebankca.com under the “SEC Filings” tab, or (4) writing First Choice at 17785 Center Court Drive, N Suite 750, Cerritos, CA 90703, Attention: General Counsel.

Participants in Solicitation

First Choice and certain of their directors and executive officers, and Enterprise and certain of their directors, executive officers and other certain members of management and employees, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of First Choice and the shareholders of Enterprise in connection with the merger. Information about the directors and executive officers of


Enterprise is set forth in the proxy statement for Enterprise’s 2021 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on a Schedule 14A on March 17, 2021. Information about the directors and officers of First Choice will be set forth in the Form-10-K/A, to be filed with the SEC on or about April 27, 2021 and in the proxy statement of First Choice to be filed on Schedule 14A during the third quarter of 2021. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed acquisition when it becomes available. Free copies of this document, once filed, may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.



SIGNATURES

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 thereunto duly authorized.

                
ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP
Date:April 26, 2021By:/s/ Troy R. Dumlao
Troy R. Dumlao
Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer