Old National Bancorp Inc. in Evansville, Ind., has struck a deal to sell and lease back 25 of its branches and said it has an agreement in place to sell and lease back dozens more.
The $8 billion-asset company disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday that it sold 25 branches and one insurance office to SunTrust Equity Funding LLC, a division of SunTrust Banks Inc. of Atlanta, for $99.7 million on Sept. 19.
Old National also said it intends to sell 57 more branches and a trust office to SunTrust Equity sometime in the fourth quarter.
Lynell J. Walton, Old National's vice president for investor relations, said that when that deal is completed, Old National would lease nearly all of its branches. Selling and leasing back branches and other properties would free up capital that the company could use for other purposes, she said.
