Pricing the bank

How much is a Florida community bank worth today?

Consider Stonegate Bank's proposed acquisition of Florida Shores Bancorp.

Fort Lauderdale-based Stonegate has offered to pay a group of Michigan and Florida investors 1.4 times Florida Shores' book value. That's about the average of what banks are trading for these days nationally, according to SNL Financial. And it's about the same IberiaBank paid for Fort Myers-based Florida Gulf Bancorp last year when it set a benchmark price for healthy banks in the region.