M&A opportunities are plentiful for Horizon Bancorp in Indiana

Horizon Bancorp in Michigan City, Ind., is eager to buy more banks.

The $3.9 billion-asset company has earned a reputation as a serial acquirer after buying eight banks since the financial crisis. Its most recent acquisition, the $92 million purchase of Wolverine Bancorp in Midland, Mich., closed in October.

While the total number of U.S. banks could decline by 5% annually, Mark Secor, Horizon’s chief financial officer, said on Tuesday that the company still expects roughly 10 opportunities each year to acquire more banks.

“We still have the aptitude, skill and desire to continue" pursuing acquisitions, Secor said at a conference in New York hosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Horizon’s strategic plan involves an even split between organic growth and acquisitions, Secor said. Since 2012, the company has produced a compound annual growth rate of 26%, with roughly half of the increase coming from organic sources.

Horizon has 65 branches spread across Indiana and Michigan. Secor said the company is interested in expanding around Ann Arbor, Mich., and potentially entering northwest Ohio.

“What we’ve seen in some of those markets are considerable … opportunities,” he said.

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