Business
First Busey Corporation and CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. Announce Transformative Partnership
Creates Compelling and Diversified Commercial Banking Franchise with $20 Billion in Assets, Extending Busey’s Market Presence to Arizona, Colorado, Kansas,
About this update from First Busey Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Creates Compelling and Diversified Commercial Banking Franchise with $20 Billion in Assets, Extending Busey’s Market Presence to Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas\nCHAMPAIGN, Ill. and LEAWOOD, Kan., Aug. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Busey Corporation (“Busey”) (Nasdaq: BUSE), the holding company for Busey Bank, and CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. (“CrossFirst”) (Nasdaq: CFB), the holding company for CrossFirst Bank, jointly announced today the signing of a definitive agreement and plan of merger, pursuant to which CrossFirst will merge with and into Busey (the “Merger”) in an all-common stock transaction valued at approximately $916.8 million, based on Busey’s closing stock price of $27.39 as of August 26, 2024. The combined company, which will operate under the Busey brand, will have approximately $20 billion in total assets, approximately $17 billion in total deposits and approximately $13 billion in wealth management assets under care. “The partnership between our high-quality franchises is a great fit from a strategic, financial and cultural perspective, and we look forward to capitalizing on the many opportunities we see as a combined company in 2025 and beyond,” said Busey Chairman and CEO Van Dukeman. “CrossFirst is a natural fit alongside Busey’s established commercial and wealth management offerings and our payment technology solutions business, FirsTech, Inc. By leveraging CrossFirst’s established presence in attractive markets with compelling growth potential, this partnership is expected to serve as a catalyst for additional commercial banking growth as well as expanded opportunities to grow our existing wealth management and payments businesses. We are excited for our associates, customers and shareholders to experience our next chapter as Busey and CrossFirst combine to form a premier commercial bank that maintains the community bank values our customers and communities expect and deserve.” Mike Maddox, CrossFirst CEO, President and Director, stated, “Founded on the ideals of extraordinary, personal service provided by outstanding, local bankers, our dedicated associates at CrossFirst have built strong, trusting relationships with our clients and the markets we serve. We believe Busey is the right partner to continue CrossFirst’s customer- and community-focus. Because of our like-minded cu...