By Jeff McKinney
Enquirer staff writer

Winton Financial Corp., one of Greater Cincinnati's largest savings and loans, agreed Wednesday to be acquired by WesBanco Inc., a Wheeling, W.Va., banking company, in a deal valued at $102.5 million.

Winton is the parent of Winton Savings & Loan Co.

The 117-year-old savings and loan has assets of $553.7 million, loans of $505 million, deposits of $367.3 million and seven branches, all in Hamilton County.

Monfort Heights-based Winton, one of the last publicly traded thrifts in Southwest Ohio, also has loan production offices in Anderson Township and Lawrenceburg.

WesBanco has assets of $3.5 billion, deposits of $2.4 billion and 73 branches in West Virginia, central and eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

The merger would create a combined banking company with assets of $4.5 billion and 87 branches and four loan offices in four states.

The deal was announced after stock markets closed Wednesday.

Robert Bollin, Winton's president and chief executive officer, said WesBanco's extensive experience in trust and investments, commercial lending, and technologically advanced banking systems were important factors in determining the merger potential of the combined organization.

"As part of WesBanco with its more significant resources, we can now offer commercial and expanded retail products, insurance products and trust and wealth management services," Bollin said.

The deal calls for WesBanco to pay Winton shareholders a combination of cash and stock for their common stock. They will get $20.75 a share in cash or 0.755 shares of WesBanco common stock, subject to a requirement that 60 percent of Winton's shares outstanding be paid in stock and 40 percent in cash.

The stock price is 36 percent over Winton's Wednesday closing price.

Winton closed near a 52-week high at $15.30, down 10 cents. WesBanco closed at $27.90, up 11 cents. Winton's stock is up 5.5 percent from a month ago and 16.26 percent since January, 2004.

The merger, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to be completed early next year. It must be approved by Winton shareholders and banking regulators.

The deal is the second expansion into Ohio for WesBanco. The company also is buying Western Ohio Financial Corp. in Springfield.

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E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com