Kenwood-based CBank to acquire CI Finance

Kenwood-based CBank Tuesday announced its pending acquisition of CI Finance, an equipment leasing and finance business based in St. Louis.

Financal terms of the deal, which should close by early May, were not disclosed. The new company will be a wholly owned subsidiary of CBank and function as a CBank company but retain the CI Finance name and management team, according to a news release.

"Combining our financial strength and capacity with the proven team at CI Finance will enable us to expand and help our customers grow," said Dean Meiszer, CEO of CBank, in a news release. "This acquisition completes one of CBank's original business goals of adding an equipment leasing and finance capability to expand our bank's commercial offerings. We are impressed with CI Finance's management team, business platform and depth of experience."

CI Finance was founded in 1982 and provides sales-aid finance programs to manufacturers, vendors and distributors in commercial, industrial and municipal sectors, according to the release.

"We are pleased that our cultures and objectives are in sync to fuel the growth of both CI Finance and CBank," said Scott Hawkins, president of CI Finance, in the release. "The real winners in this merger are our many customers."

CBank is a full-service commercial bank, according to the release. It mainly serves privately-held businesses, their owners and other local professionals. CBank, which has two branches, was the 35th largest bank in Greater Cincinnati as of June 30, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank had 14 employees and deposits of $74.4 million, which gave it a 1.1 percent share of the Cincinnati market.