Don't expect Gold Banc Corp. of Leawood, Kan., to make any purchases any time soon - in fact, the once-acquisitive community banking company may be ready to sell itself.
Gold has not acquired a bank since early 2000, and its new chief executive said last week that it would remain on the sidelines for at least the next 12 to 18 months.
At an investor conference in New York on Wednesday, Malcolm M. "Mick" Aslin also hinted that his $4 billion-asset company would listen to offers from potential buyers.
Among the key messages in his 20-minute presentation was that the new team is less "emotional" about the company than previous management "and will do what is right in the eyes of shareholders. ... We're looking at all possible alternatives."
Mr. Aslin, who became Gold's president and chief operating officer in 1999, was thrust into the CEO role in March, after Michael W. Gullion was forced to resign. Mr. Gullion had headed the company since 1978 and built it into the largest banking concern headquartered in Kansas, largely through acquisitions. He stepped down after an internal audit found that he had diverted as much as $2.5 million of the lead bank's funds into his personal account.
(Gold announced Wednesday that it would record Mr. Gullion's repayment of $2.25 million as income in the third quarter.)
Since taking the helm, Mr. Aslin has been focused on repairing Gold's image and bringing its flagging performance ratios closer to industry averages. Instead of acquiring, it wants to sell the underperforming rural branches it inherited in a string of deals in the late 1990s and use the proceeds to strengthen its position in higher-growth markets. It has already announced deals for four of its branches, and Mr. Aslin said that discussions to sell others are ongoing.
"Talk of acquisitions will not even enter into our conversations," he said.
One market Gold will not leave is Florida. Though some investors and analysts view its operations there as a distraction from its core banking business in the Midwest, Mr. Aslin said that Gold's markets in the state have "superior" demographics. He also pointed out that his company would take a large tax hit if it sold its 11 branches there.
"We are not planning to abandon those fast-growing markets," he said.
Apparently, investors like what they are hearing. On Thursday, the day after Mr. Aslin's presentation at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.'s fourth annual Community Bank Investor Conference, Gold shares closed at a 52-week high of $11.05 on its heaviest trading day since May. Its stock was trading at $10.94 midday Friday, up 42.1% from its 52-week low on April 3.
Investors may be betting that Gold will eventually be sold. Despite Gold's lackluster performance, Daniel Cardenas, an analyst at Howe Barnes Investments Inc. in Chicago, said that the bank would be attractive to companies looking to gain market share in the Kansas City area, where it ranks No. 9 in deposit share, or in west Florida.
"There would be a lot of companies that would take a hard look at it," Mr. Cardenas said. The larger question "is whether it would be worth more piecemeal or ... as a whole."
