M&A road map: Where the bank deals are happening
July 14, 2017 1:17 PM
Bank M&A by region
While industry consolidation remains slow compared with previous years, certain regions are humming along with strong volume and improved pricing. Here’s a look at each region based on June 30 data from KBW and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Southeast’s heat wave
Nearly a third of bank sellers (37) were in the Southeast. More important, their deals made up 56% of total volume and were worth more than $9.6 billion. North Carolina has led the way; notable sellers included the $10 billion-asset Capital Bank, the $7.4 billion-asset BNC Bancorp and the $3.3 billion-asset Park Sterling.
Small deals in Midwest
The Midwest leads the nation with 41 sellers, but many are small, privately held institutions. The average seller had just $245 million in assets, and the aggregate disclosed volume was $1.4 billion. The biggest deal in the region has been First Merchants’ $251 million acquisition of Independent Alliance Banks in Fort Wayne, Ind.
West is best for pricing
The 16 Western U.S. banks that agreed to be sold fetched the highest pricing — an average of 188% of their tangible book value. Total disclosed volume was about $2 billion; the largest sellers were the $3.1 billion-asset CU Bancorp and the $2.5 billion-asset Pacific Continental.
Top-heavy Northeast
Midyear numbers for the Northeast were skewed by Sterling Bancorp’s $2.2 billion acquisition of the $14 billion-asset Astoria Financial, which remains 2017’s biggest bank deal and equaled two-thirds of the region's disclosed deal values. The 17 sellers in the Northeastern earned average pricing of 146% of tangible book value.
Texas carries the Southwest
All but one of the Southwest’s bank sellers are based in Texas. Despite lingering concerns about oil exposure, the region’s seven sellers are being paid an average price of 182% of tangible book. The largest seller is First Texas; Simmons First agreed in January to buy the $2 billion-asset Fort Worth company for $462 million.
