Ovation to Buy Two Florida Branches from Liberty of Iowa

Ovation Holdings will acquire two branches in southwest Florida from Liberty Bank, as the Iowa thrift seeks to exit Florida.

Ovation, the $250 million-asset holding company for Encore National Bank, said it received regulatory approval for the deal on Nov. 15. The branches, located in Naples and Bonita Springs, Fla., together hold about $80 million in deposits. Ovation is also acquiring $17 million of loans from Liberty. The deal is expected to close Dec. 31.

Ovation already operates two Encore branches in its hometown of Naples, Fla., as well as three other branches in southwest Florida. In May, Ovation acquired several Royal Palm Bank branches in Florida from Quincy, Ill.-based Mercantile Bancorp.

Liberty is a $572 million-asset thrift headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. The locations being sold are its only Florida branches.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Community banking M&A
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER