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Two small Kansas banks that have been fixtures in their rural communities for decades are planning to merge in a bid to improve efficiency and better contend with increasing compliance costs.
January 11
Landmark Bancorp Inc. in Manhattan, Kan., is buying Wellsville Bancshares Inc. in what would be its first bank acquisition in more than six years.
The $578 million-asset company announced the deal in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. It did not disclose a deal price.
Wellsville is the holding company for the $36 million-asset Wellsville Bank. Its lone branch in Wellsville is to be merged into Landmark National Bank when the deal closes in the second or third quarter.
For Landmark, the deal would be its fourth in Kansas since 2001 and first since it acquired the $129 million-asset First Savings Bank in Manhattan in January 2006. The bank operates 21 branches in 16 Kansas communities.
In early trading Wednesday, Landmark's shares were up nearly 3%, to $18.58.
