Mercantile Bancorp Inc. of Quincy, Ill., said it had agreed to buy Royal Palm Bancorp Inc. of Naples, Fla., for $44.4 million in cash.
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The deal, announced Wednesday, is expected to close this year and would take the $1.5 billion-asset Mercantile into Florida for the first time.
The company said the deal was an example of its strategy to buy banks in faster-growing markets.
Mercantile has six banks in Illinois, two in Missouri, and one in Kansas. It also has minority investments in five community banks in Missouri, Georgia, and Florida.
The $147.4 million-asset Royal Palm has a branch in Naples, one in Marco Island, and one in Fort Myers.
