Bank of the Ozarks to Buy Genala Banc in Alabama for $27 Million

Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock, Ark., is buying Genala Banc, the holding company of The Citizens Bank of Geneva, Ala., for $27.3 million.

The $3.8 billion-asset Bank of the Ozarks said it would pay $13.9 million in stock and $13.4 million in cash for the $170 million-asset Citizens, which has one office.

The deal announced late Thursday would give Bank of the Ozarks, which has 118 offices throughout the Southeast and Texas, another toehold in southeastern Alabama.

"This acquisition provides us an opportunity to expand our already substantial presence in the Southeast region and provides a nice link between our two offices in Mobile, Alabama and our two offices in Bainbridge, Georgia," George Gleason, Bank of the Ozarks' chief executive, said in a news release.

In addition to its deal for Citizens, Bank of the Ozarks has been one of the industry's most aggressive buyers of failed banks of the past few years.  The company has bought seven failed banks since the start of 2010, including five in Georgia.

FIG Partners and the law firm of Kutak Rock advised Bank of the Ozarks on the deal, which is expected to close during late 2012 or during the first quarter of 2013.  Citizens was advised by Sheshunoff & Co. and the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.