HAGER CITY – Lake Shore III Corporation, the holding company of Hiawatha National Bank (“HNB”), a national bank headquartered in Hager City, announced last week that it entered into an agreement and plan of merger on March 2, 2022 to acquire Headwaters State Bank (“HSB”), a state bank headquartered in Land O’Lakes, through a merger of Headwaters Bancorp, Inc. with and into Lake Shore III Corporation. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2022, pending regulatory approval, approval of Headwaters Bancorp, Inc.’s shareholders, as well as other customary closing conditions.

James W. Meisser, Chairman of Lake Shore III Corporation, said, “We are pleased to be coming together in the Land O’Lakes market with HSB. The team shares our local community bank relationship-based approach and upper Midwest focus. We look forward to expanding their legacy of service together by providing robust deposit and loan product offerings with competitive interest rates, plus career development and training opportunities for the HSB employees. Together we are big enough to serve and small enough to care.”

Sally Folgert, President and CFO of HSB, was also pleased with the proposed transaction.

“We are very excited about the merger with Lake Shore III,” Folgert said. “We anticipate the merger will augment our existing operations and allow Headwaters State Bank to serve our customers better. We look forward to the opportunities and benefits this combination will bring to our communities and, most importantly our customers.”

HSB and HNB are proud Wisconsin banks, each with a history of serving Wisconsin communities for over a century. HSB is an $84 million community bank with a main location in Land O’Lakes and one branch in Presque Isle. HNB is a $546 million community bank that has locations in Glenwood City, Hager City, Hudson, Maiden Rock, Osceola and Plymouth. After closing, it is expected that Lake Shore III Corporation’s assets will increase to more than $630 million as the holding company of both banks. The banks will maintain their position as neighborhood banks in their local communities; their commitment remains strong to the communities they serve.

WCF Advisors, LLC acted as financial advisor and Boardman Clark served as legal counsel to Headwaters, while Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, S.C. served as legal counsel to Lake Shore III Corporation and Hiawatha National Bank.

Submitted by Hiawatha National Bank