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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.
But Conway, Ark.-based Home BancShares, parent of Centennial Bank, also coveted Bank of Commerce — particularly if it could get the bank, with $196 million in assets through June, at a discounted rate. Centennial has been growing rapidly in Florida, buying seven banks in the state since 2012. The list includes Florida Business BancGroup, parent of Bay Cities Bank in Tampa, a $532 million-asset bank Home BancShares bought in 2015.
Home BancShares, after a Nov. 17 hearing in federal bankruptcy court, won the bid for Bank of Commerce. The winning bid, $4.17 million, which includes the settlement of the Bank's subordinated debt, is worth notably less than DeFoor's pre-bankruptcy offer. But the bankruptcy court process cleared the way for lower bids that weren't feasible prior to the filing.
Bank of Commerce founder and CEO Charlie Murphy tells Coffee Talk Home BancShares officials called him a week before the bankruptcy hearing and they chatted about the possible bid. Murphy declined to comment on what role he and other Bank of Commerce executives will have under Centennial Bank, saying he wanted to wait until the new owners speak with employees and customers. “This has really been a whirlwind,” Murphy tells Coffee Talk.
Home BancShares, pending the official closing of the Bank of Commerce deal, will have some 20 branches from Polk County south to Marco Island. Bank of Commerce's three branches, like the others Home BancShares owns in the region, will become part of Centennial Bank brand under the deal.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our footprint in the Sarasota area,” Home BancShares Chairman John Allison says in a statement. “This allows us to provide expanded service to our current customers.”
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