Oct 27 (Reuters) - Activist investor PL Capital, which

owns about 3% of Horizon Bancorp ( HBNC ), called on the

regional lender on Monday to sell itself rather than pursue its

acquisition strategy.

PL Capital said Horizon Bancorp's ( HBNC ) 2021 acquisition of 14

branches from TCF National Bank, adding nearly $1 billion in

deposits, was mismanaged and resulted in losses.

The company announced a restructuring to manage losses in

the third quarter of 2025 that resulted in stock dilution, PL

Capital said in a presentation to Horizon's board and

management.

Regional banks have become favorite targets of some activist

investors, who are pushing them to improve shareholder value or

sell themselves to capitalize on a more lenient regulatory

environment for bank mergers under the Trump administration.

Activist investor HoldCo Asset Management has urged storied

Boston lender Eastern Bankshares ( EBC ) to put itself up for

sale, instead of buying up other banks, Reuters reported earlier

this month.

Regional lender Comerica ( CMA ), which was one of HoldCo's

targets, agreed to be bought out by Fifth Third earlier

this month, in what was the biggest U.S. bank deal of the year.

Horizon Bancorp ( HBNC ) did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)