BancorpSouth Inc. of Tupelo, Miss., announced after the market closed Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Signature Bank of Springfield, Mo., for $170 million.
Buying Signature would give the $11.8 billion-asset BancorpSouth its first operations in Missouri.
"When we looked at Signature's franchise, we felt it would be a perfect fit. We do business in a number of similarly size communities and some slightly larger," said Aubrey Patterson, the chairman and CEO of BancorpSouth.
Making a deal in Missouri was a logical expansion for the company from its operations in Arkansas, Mr. Patterson said. "Our idea of growing our organization is not to leapfrog into distant markets but to grow into contiguous markets."
Currently, BancorpSouth has nearly 300 branches and mortgage offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
BancorpSouth entered Florida when it purchased a state charter from Superior Bancorp in Birmingham, Ala., in May. (The price was not disclosed.) In September, BancorpSouth opened a branch in Destin, Fla.
The $847 million-asset Signature has six branches in Springfield and a loan production office in St. Louis.
David Kunze, the president and CEO of City Bancorp, Signature's parent, said that BancorpSouth would spread throughout Missouri, and that Signature already has a branch under construction in O'Fallon, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.
According to statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Signature ranks 4th in deposit share in the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, with 7.83% of the market.
The deal announced Tuesday calls for Springfield shareholders to receive $34.08 for each of their shares. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of next year.
Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri attended the companies' press conference in Springfield announcing the deal.
"I always like to participate in events that reflect job creation and investment in our state," he said.
BancorpSouth's stock rose after rumors of the deal were published by Dow Jones Newswires.
A story published Tuesday morning in the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader quoted Signature's chairman as saying his company would announce a deal with an out-of-state company. A Dow Jones story later in the day quoting "a person familiar with the matter" and saying BancorpSouth would buy Signature sent BancorpSouth's stock up 1.1%, to $25.55 a share. It closed at that price. Signature is not publicly traded.
