Enterprise Financial Services Corp. in St. Louis announced Wednesday that it plans to sell its Great American Bank subsidiary to First Financial Bancshares Inc. in Lawrence, Kan.
However, the $2 billion-asset Enterprise would keep Great American’s Claycomo, Kan., branch and merge it into its Enterprise Bank and Trust subsidiary.
The $60 million-asset First Financial would gain Great American’s charter and its branch in De Soto, Kan. It plans to operate the De Soto branch as Great American Bank.
The deal price was not disclosed. The sale is expected to close next quarter.
Enterprise bought Great American Bank from Clayco Banc Corp. in February 2007 for $37 million. It decided to sell it to First Financial because management concluded that it has “more branch locations than our business model currently requires,” Peter Benoist, company chairman and bank chief executive, said in a press release.
The planned sale came after an announcement that Enterprise would sell its Liberty, Mo., branch to the $570 million-asset Farmers Enterprises Inc. in Great Bend, Kan. This deal is expected to close in late February.
