Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks – fresh off last month’s $800 million acquisition of Atlanta’s Community & Southern Holdings – will acquire St. Petersburg, Fla.-based C1 Financial, Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at $402.5 million.
The announcement to acquire C1 Financial and its subsidiary, C1 Bank, is worth approximately $25.00 per C1 share. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Bank of the Ozarks’ diluted earnings per common share by $0.02 to $0.04, including transaction costs, for the first twelve months after the transaction closes and by $0.07 to $0.10 for the second twelve months.
C1 operates 32 Florida banking offices on the west coast of Florida and in Miami-Dade and Orange counties. The majority of the offices are located in Florida’s top six metropolitan markets. At September 30, 2015, C1 had approximately $1.7 billion of total assets, $1.4 billion of loans and $1.3 billion of deposits.
George Gleason, Chairman and CEO of Bank of the Ozarks, said, “We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of C1 Bank, a premier community bank in Florida. This acquisition provides us with 32 additional offices in Florida, including entry into the Miami, Orlando and Cape Coral-Ft. Myers markets and significantly expands our existing 10-office Florida presence.”
Gleason said the additional branches are “in some of Florida’s best high growth, deposit-rich markets” making the deal “very attractive.”
Trevor Burgess, President and CEO of C1 and founder of C1 Bank, was named American Banker’s Community Banker of the Year in 2014 and is recognized nationally for leadership in banking innovation. Burgess will serve as Chief Innovation Officer for Bank of the Ozarks upon closing of the transaction. He will also serve as president of Florida operations.
“We are excited to have found a new partner in Bank of the Ozarks, which shares our passions for the entrepreneur, for first class service, and for making a fundamental difference in our communities,” Burgess said. “Together, with an expanded product set and increased firepower, we will be able to serve an even broader array of businesses and families in the state of Florida.”
The transaction is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2016 or early in the second quarter of 2016. This transaction will be Bank of the Ozarks’ 15th acquisition since March 2010.
