Ohio Oak Hill Financial Acquires Meeker & Meeker Agency
Oak Hill Financial, Inc. has announced that its insurance affiliate, Oak Hill Financial Insurance Agency, Inc., has acquired the assets of Meeker & Meeker, Inc., a privately-held insurance agency located in Franklin, Ohio. The all-cash transaction closed on April 16, 2007.
Meeker & Meeker specializes in commercial and personal property and casualty insurance. Founded in 1884, the agency serves the insurance needs of over 1,200 businesses, families, and individuals in Southwestern Ohio, according to the company statement.
Oak Hill Financial Insurance Agency will continue to use the Meeker & Meeker name in its local market areas. Fred Farmer, president and CEO of Meeker & Meeker, has become a senior vice president of Oak Hill Financial Insurance and will oversee all of Oak Hill’s commercial insurance lines.
Oak Hill Financial expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings per share. “At Meeker & Meeker’s current production levels, we expect that this transaction will add about $.01 per share annually to our earnings,” stated Coffman. “Of course, we believe there is strong potential for further growth in the agency.”
Coffman explained that the Meeker & Meeker acquisition is part of Oak Hill Financial’s long-term strategy. “One of our long-term goals is diversification of revenues within the financial services industry,” he said, “and we’ve targeted insurance services as a key growth area for the company to complement our banking operations.”
Source: Oak Hill Financial, Inc.