Whirlwind of a deal

After years of near misses in attempts to raise capital, it's nice to finally be liked.

That's one way to look at the latest deal for Sarasota-based Bank of Commerce.

In September, the bank, hit hard by nonperforming real estate loans in the recession, scored a potential new owner in Chattanooga, Tenn., businessman Byron DeFoor.
A group led by DeFoor planned to invest $10 million into the bank, in a deal that hinged on a successful voluntary bankruptcy filing by the parent company, Bank of Commerce Holdings Inc. The bankruptcy filing, through a section of the code for a distressed holding company, would have allowed DeFoor, with the investment, to buy the bank free and clear of existing liens and interests.