PrivateBancorp Inc. of Chicago is buying Bloomfield Hills Bancorp Inc. in Michigan for $64 million in cash.
The deal, announced Thursday, is expected to close in the third quarter. It would give the $2.6 billion-asset PrivateBancorp three branches in the Detroit suburbs of Bloomfield Hills, Grosse Point, and Rochester.
Both PrivateBancorp and the $338 billion-asset Bloomfield Hills focus on wealth management. Their subsidiaries also have similar names: PrivateBank and Trust Co., and Private Bank.
PrivateBancorp said it planned to retain Bloomfield Hills' staff and management.
Analyst Kevin K. Reevey, of BankAtlantic Bancorp's Ryan Beck & Co. Inc. in Florham Park, N.J., said in a report published Friday that the 3.2 times price-to-book ratio was a "lofty entrance fee" for the buyer to pay to get into the affluent Detroit suburbs.
But the markets seemed to view the deal favorably. PrivateBancorp's stock was up 4.2% in trading late Friday, to $30.91.
