Dive Brief:
- Champaign, Illinois-based Busey Bank and Leawood, Kansas-based CrossFirst Bank will merge in a $916.8 million all-stock transaction set to close in the first half of 2025, the banks said Tuesday.
- The combination will create a bank with a 10-state footprint, counting 77 locations, roughly $20 billion in assets, $17 billion in deposits, $15 billion in loans and $13 billion in wealth assets under care, the banks said.
- The deal will give commercially focused Busey entry to six new states — Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico — and the chance to court businesses in Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Kansas City and Wichita, the banks said.
Dive Insight:
The combined bank will retain the Busey name after the merger and keep its banking headquarters in Illinois. The holding company, however, will move to CrossFirst’s Kansas City-area headquarters for its central location, the banks said.
Busey CEO Van Dukeman called the deal a “great fit from a strategic, financial and cultural perspective.”
“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,” Dukeman said, highlighting the chance to expand the reach of Busey’s FirsTech payment technology brand.
Once the merger is complete, Dukeman will serve as executive chair and CEO of the holding company and executive chair of the bank. CrossFirst CEO Mike Maddox, meanwhile, will become president and executive vice chair of the holding company and CEO of the bank.
“We believe Busey is the right partner to continue CrossFirst’s customer and community focus,” Maddox said. “Because of our like-minded cultures, our complementary business models and manner in which we operate, we are confident this partnership will create significant benefits for our teams, customers, communities and shareholders.”
After the merger, Busey shareholders will own 63.5% of the combined company, while CrossFirst’s will own 36.5%. The surviving entity’s board will have 13 members: eight from Busey and five from CrossFirst.
CrossFirst shareholders will receive 0.6675 shares of Busey common stock for each CrossFirst share they hold. The deal value is based on Busey’s closing stock price Monday of $27.39. CrossFirst’s common shareholders do not receive a dividend but will be eligible to receive Busey dividends once the merger closes, the banks said.
After the banks integrate, Busey’s CFO, chief operating officer, chief risk officer and general counsel will retain their roles.
Randy Rapp, CrossFirst Bank’s president, will become president of Busey Bank.
Meanwhile, Chip Jorstad, Busey’s president of credit and bank administration, will become chief credit officer.
Amy Fauss, CrossFirst’s chief operating officer, will become chief information and technology officer.
Maddox will succeed Dukeman as CEO of the holding company on the one-year anniversary of the bank merger or the 18-month anniversary of the holding company merger, whichever is earlier. Dukeman will remain executive chair of both.
Rod Brenneman, independent chair of CrossFirst’s board, will become lead independent director of the combined board.
“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,” Dukeman said.
Busey expects accretion of roughly 20% — excluding one-time merger-related charges — in 2026, the first full year in which operations are combined, it said. The bank estimates it will earn back its tangible book value after six months.
