Mid Penn Bancorp is entering the lucrative southeastern Pennsylvania market by acquiring Malvern’s First Priority Financial, writes Joel Berg for Central Penn Business Journal.

The area is attractive to the Millersburg bank due to its growing population and above average household income, according to Rory G. Ritrievi, Mid Penn’s president and CEO.

The all-stock deal is valued at around $82 million, has been approved by the boards of both banks and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

Once the deal is finalized, First Priority will operate as First Priority Bank, a division of Mid Penn Bank. The Chester County bank currently has eight branches in Chester, Berks, Montgomery and Bucks counties. The deal will increase Mid Penn’s total number of branches to 37 with total assets of $2.2 billion.

First Priority’s chairman and CEO, David E. Sparks, and three more board members will join the Mid Penn board.

According to Ritrievi, the merger talks between himself and Sparks got serious last summer.

“He comes from the finance side. I come from the loan side,” said Ritrievi. “Our skill sets are complementary.”

Read more about the acquisition at Central Penn Business Journal here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of First Priority Financial here.