Commerce Bancshares Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., said it has agreed to buy the $124 million-asset South Tulsa Financial Corp. for $26.2 million in stock.
The deal, announced Monday after the markets closed, would give the $15 billion-asset Commerce its first retail branches in Oklahoma. Commerce, which started a loan production office in Tulsa this year, would add two full-service branches there by acquiring South Tulsa Financial.
The price is about 2.22 times the seller's book value.
Commerce has about 360 branches in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas. It also has commercial banking clients in Oklahoma, and they have been asking it to open retail branches, the company said.
South Tulsa is the parent of Bank South; its two branches are to be merged into Commerce Bank. Carl Hudgins, South Tulsa's president and chief executive officer, would become the chairman and CEO of Commerce's Oklahoma operations.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
