Advertisement

St. Petersburg's innovative C1 Bank bought by Bank of the Ozarks for $402 million

 
Published Nov. 10, 2015

The parent of St. Petersburg's C1 Bank was purchased Monday in a $402.5 million deal by Bank of the Ozarks, an Arkansas bank that continues a recent binge of acquisitions in Florida and other southeastern states.

The deal amounts to about $25 per share of C1 Financial, ending weeks of speculation that the local banking company would soon be bought.

C1 Bank had grown to $1.7 billion in assets, becoming the 18th-largest bank based in Florida last year. It operates 32 branches on the west coast of Florida and in Miami-Dade and Orange counties. Most of the offices are in Florida's top six metropolitan markets.

Once the deal is finalized, C1 founder and CEO Trevor Burgess will serve as Bank of the Ozarks' chief innovation officer and president of its Florida operations.

"We are excited to have found a new partner in Bank of the Ozarks, which shares our passions for the entrepreneur, for first-class service, and for making a fundamental difference in our communities," Burgess said in a prepared statement.

As chief innovation officer, Burgess said he can help integrate the bank's technology and develop new technology applications on a national scale.

Early on, Burgess gained local attention for C1's marketing prowess, which included becoming the official bank of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is also one of a few U.S. CEOs who is openly gay and was recently ranked 17th on a list of the 100 most powerful LGBT executives in the world compiled by Outstanding, a nonprofit professional network for LGBT executives, and by the Financial Times.

While C1's charter dates to 1995, its modern history began in 2009 in the midst of the recession, when a Brazilian investor group that included Burgess made a significant investment to recapitalize Community Bank of Manatee.

For Bank of the Ozarks, a $9.3-billion-asset institution, the C1 deal sharply increases its presence in Florida to 43 branches, and provides entry into the Miami, Orlando and Cape Coral-Fort Myers markets.

"The addition of these branches in some of Florida's best high growth, deposit-rich markets is very attractive to us, but of equal value is the skilled and dedicated team at C1 Bank," said Bank of the Ozarks CEO George Gleason in a prepared statement.

Gleason was named community banker of the year in 2010 by the American Banker newspaper. Burgess won the same award in 2014.

Upon the closing of the transaction, C1 Bank will merge into Bank of the Ozarks. The deal is expected to close by the second quarter of 2016.