Bank of the Ozarks to Buy Intervest in N.Y.

Bank of the Ozarks in Little Rock, Ark., has agreed to buy Intervest Bancshares in New York for $228.5 million in stock.

The deal would give Bank of the Ozarks its first branch in New York where it currently has a loan production office. It would also increase the $6.3 billion-asset company's presence in the Tampa, Fla., market and would expand its commercial lending portfolio.

"Intervest's six offices and quarter century heritage in the Pinellas County, Florida market are a great complement to our four offices in nearby Manatee County," George Gleason, chairman and chief executive, said in a press release Thursday. "Intervest's New York and Florida lending teams have a long track record of serving commercial real estate borrowers and product types not currently offered by the Bank of the Ozarks."

The deal marks the latest in a string of acquisitions for Bank of the Ozarks. It bought the $694 million-asset First National Bank of Shelby in North Carolina last August. It has also acquired two additional banks-the $285 million-asset Omnibank in Houston and the $1.2 billion-asset Summit Bank in Arkadelphia, Ark.-so far this year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2015.

Bank of the Ozarks currently operates 164 offices in nine states. The $1.6 billion-asset Intervest has seven branches in Florida and New York.

Intervest was advised by Sandler O'Neill and the law firm Harris Beach. Bank of the Ozarks was represented by the law firm Kutak Rock.

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Community banking M&A Arkansas New York
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