Busy Grandpoint to Buy the Biltmore Bank of Arizona

Just a month into the new year, Grandpoint Capital Inc. in Los Angeles has already struck two deals for community banks.

The $1.5 billion-asset company announced Tuesday that it is expanding into the Phoenix market with a deal to acquire the Bank Capital Corp. and its subsidiary, the Biltmore Bank of Arizona.

The deal would be the eighth for Grandpoint — and second in Arizona — since the company was formed with $75 million of capital in 2010 to roll up community banks. Just last week it announced it was buying the $244 million-asset California Community Bank in Escondido and on Tuesday it completed its acquisition of Regents Bank in La Jolla, Calif.

Founded in 2003 to cater largely to business clients, the Biltmore Bank has $261 million of assets and offices in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

In a news release, Grandpoint Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don M. Griffith said that its deal for the Biltmore Bank would give Grandpoint a platform from which to build its franchise in the Phoenix and Scottsdale markets. The Biltmore Bank would retain its name and its top executives, including Chairman and founder Richard Lehmann.

"We are pleased that Rich Lehmann and his talented management team will guide our growth in Phoenix, a region we believe has tremendous long-term value," Griffith said.

Lehmann said that the Biltmore Bank was drawn to Grandpoint because of its "substantial" capital base.

"The events of the past several years have illustrated that in order for us to support the continued growth of our current clients we need to have a strong balance sheet and a formidable capital position," Lehmann said.

The sale is expected to close in the second quarter. A deal price was not disclosed.