A bankruptcy court in Florida has declared Home BancShares Inc. of Conway the successful bidder to buy The Bank of Commerce, a Florida state-chartered bank that operates in the Sarasota area, from its parent company, Bank of Commerce Holdings Inc.
Home BancShares, the parent company of Centennial Bank, announced the move Thursday. It said that after the court enters its order approving the successful bidder designation within the next week, it will move ahead with the acquisition of all Bank of Commerce stock and other assets.
"We are excited about the opportunity to expand our footprint in the Sarasota area," Home BancShares Chairman Johnny Allison said in a news release. "This allows us to provide expanded service to our current customers. If approved, The Bank of Commerce customers will now have access to 20 Centennial locations throughout central Florida."
The deal is expected to close in first quarter of 2017 and will be subject to a court-approved final sale order.
The Bank of Commerce was chartered in 2000 and has three offices. The bank lost a combined $1.7 million in 2013-2015; its last annual profit was $393,000 in 2012. But it posted net income of $1 million in the first half of 2016.
The bank had equity capital of $7 million and assets of $209 million as of June 30.
The announcement comes 10 days after Home BancShares unveiled a $88.5 million deal to buy Giant Holdings Inc., the parent of Landmark Bank of Fort Lauderdale, which has $463 million in assets.
The deal for The Bank of Commerce would mark Home BancShares' 11th acquisition in Florida since December 2008. Home BancShares has 60 offices in Florida.