FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION
200 EAST JACKSON
MUNCIE, INDIANA 47305-2814
The undersigned registrant hereby amends the following items, financial
statements, exhibits or other portions of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2001:
Exhibits:
23 Consent of independent certified public accountants
28 Annual report on Form 11-K for First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999) and report of Plan's
independent public accountants with respect to the financial
statements
The above amendments are being filed to include the information required by Form
11-K.
FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION
(Registrant)
By /s/Mark K. Hardwick
___________________________
Mark K. Hardwick
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
Date: October 11, 2002
EXHIBIT 23
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on
Form S-8 (File Number 33-28900) of our report dated October 11, 2002, on the
audit of the financial statements of First Merchants Corporation Employee Stock
Purchase Plan (1999) for the three year period ended June 30, 2002 included in
Exhibit 28.
BKD, LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana
October 11, 2002
EXHIBIT 28
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 11-K
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002
FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION
EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN (1999)
(Full title of the plan)
FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION
(Name of issuer of the securities held pursuant to the plan)
200 East Jackson Street
Muncie, Indiana 47305
(Address of principal executive office)
Independent Accountants' Report
Compensation Committee of the
Board of Directors
First Merchants Corporation
Muncie, Indiana
We have audited the accompanying statements of financial condition of First
Merchants Corporation Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999) (formerly the 1994
Plan) as of June 30, 2002 and 2001, and the related statements of income and
changes in Plan equity for each of the three years in the period ended June 30,
2002. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted
in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial position of First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999) as of June 30, 2002 and 2001, and the
results of its operations for each of the three years in the period ended
June 30, 2002, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America.
BKD, LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana
October 11, 2002
Federal Employer Identification Number: 44-0160260
See Notes to Financial Statements Page 6 of 9
First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999)
Statements of Financial Condition
June 30, 2002 and 2001
Assets
2002 2001
----------------------------------------
Investments - interest-bearing deposits $ 659,250 $ 505,482
================ ================
Plan Equity $ 659,250 $ 505,482
================ ================
First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999)
Statements of Income and Changes in Plan Equity
Years Ended June 30, 2002, 2001 and 2000
2002 2001 2000
-----------------------------------------------------------
Investment income - interest $ 8,644 $ 10,720 $ 11,119
Contributions from participants 671,453 528,573 511,644
---------------- ---------------- ----------------
680,097 539,293 522,763
---------------- ---------------- ----------------
Withdrawals and terminations paid in cash 22,748 37,037 47,148
Purchase and distribution of stock 503,581 481,543 422,421
---------------- ---------------- ----------------
526,329 518,580 469,569
---------------- ---------------- ----------------
Income and changes in Plan equity for the year 153,768 20,713 53,194
Plan equity at beginning of year 505,482 484,769 431,575
---------------- ---------------- ----------------
Plan equity at end of year $ 659,250 $ 505,482 $ 484,769
================ ================ ================
Page 8 of 9
First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999)
Notes to Financial Statements
June 30, 2002 and 2001
Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Organization - The Plan was originally adopted by the Board of Directors
of First Merchants Corporation (Corporation) in February 1989, and
commenced operations in July 1989. Effective July 1, 1994, the Plan was
amended by the adoption of the 1994 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1994
Plan), and effective July 1, 1999, amended again by the adoption of the
1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999 Plan). The 1999 Plan was
adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation in February 1999
and approved by Corporation stockholders in April 1999. A total of
275,625 shares of the Corporation's common stock are to be reserved for
issuance pursuant to the 1999 Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to
provide eligible employees of the Corporation and participating
subsidiaries the opportunity to purchase Corporation common stock
through annual offerings financed by payroll deductions.
Investments, consisting of interest-bearing deposit accounts at a
subsidiary of the Corporation, are carried at cost which approximates
current value.
Note 2: General Information
The Plan provides for the purchase of up to 275,625 shares of the
Corporation's common stock by eligible employees through a maximum of
five offerings of twelve month durations. Prior to each offering
period, eligible employees elect to have up to 20 percent of their
compensation deducted from their pay and accumulated with interest until
the end of that offering period, but not to exceed $25,000 per offering
period.
At the end of each offering period, the balance of each participant's
payroll deduction account is applied to the purchase of the largest
number of full shares of the Corporation's common stock possible. The
price at which the shares are deemed to have been purchased is
determined by the Compensation Committee of the Corporation and is equal
to 85 percent of the lesser of the fair market value of the
Corporation's common stock at the beginning or at the end of that
offering period. Shares to be purchased under the Plan may be obtained
by the Corporation from its authorized but previously unissued shares,
from open market transactions or from private sources.
In July 2002 and 2001, the Corporation issued 35,613 and 28,466 shares
of its common stock for the offering period ended June 30, 2002 and
2001, at $18.49 and $17.69 per share.
At June 30, 2002, the Plan had 355 participants.
First Merchants Corporation
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (1999)
Notes to Financial Statements
June 30, 2002 and 2001
Note 3: Income Tax Status
The Plan is not and will not be qualified under Section 401(a) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Code). The Plan is intended
to qualify as an employee stock purchase plan under Section 423 of the
Code. Consequently, the difference between the purchase price and the
fair market value of the stock purchased under the Plan is not
includable in the participant's gross income for federal income tax
purposes, unless a disqualifying distribution occurs.