South Financial Group Inc. in Greenville, S.C., said Friday that it has bought Bowditch Insurance Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla., as the "foundation agency" in the insurance business for Mercantile Bank, its Florida subsidiary.
The deal's terms were not disclosed. The purchase closed last Monday.
Bowditch Insurance "is a foundation agency for us," Andrew B. Cheney, Mercantile Bank's president, said in a press release. Mercantile will use it to build its insurance operation, he said, citing its goal "of having a platform agency in each of our major banking markets."
South Financial, a $14.7 billion-asset financial services company, has 166 branches in Florida and the Carolinas. Through its Carolina First Bank, it is the largest commercial bank based in South Carolina.
The Bowditch agency focuses on general commercial insurance but also sells personal, life, and group-related products, as well as risk management, cost-control, premium allocation, and other related services. Founded in 1983, it has two offices in the Jacksonville area. Both offices will continue operating under the Bowditch name, and Raynor E. Bowditch will remain the president, the companies said.
