Central Bank of the Midwest will gain a strong foothold in the Northland with a purchase of BankLiberty.
Central Bank’s parent, Jefferson City-based Central Bancompany Inc., said late Wednesday that it had a deal to acquire Liberty Bancorp Inc. The deal is valued at $103.7 million, or $42 in cash a share for Liberty Bancorp stock.
Plans are to fold BankLiberty and its 13 branches in the Northland and Independence into Central Bank of the Midwest. The deal comes a year after BankLiberty received regulatory approval to buy Lawson Bank, which had four branches and nearly $120 million in assets.
That will give the Lee’s Summit-based bank 46 branches in 25 communities in the Kansas City metro area and Lawrence.
Central Bank is gaining more than territory in the deal. BankLiberty was one of four metro-area banks on a list of the Best Performing Community Banks of 2018 compiled by S&P Global. The Business Journal ranked BankLiberty as the area's strongest midsize bank of 2018.
The five strongest midsize banks in the Kansas City area.
The deal also is a nice boost in size for Central Bank. The combined bank will have $2.3 billion in assets, with $1.9 billion in deposits and $1.7 billion in loans, according to a release.
Central Bank ranked as the area’s 10th largest bank based on local deposit market share, based on figures as of June 30. The addition of deposits from BankLiberty, which ranked No. 22, could move Central Bank to the No. 7 slot.
Officials expect the deal to be completed in the third quarter.
Kansas City-area market share of deposits (as of June 30, 2018)
| Rank | Prior Rank | Name / Prior rank (*unranked previously) |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | UMB |
2 | 2 | Commerce Bank |
3 | 3 | Bank of America |