Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Corp. on Wednesday (July 31) announced the acquisition of a Columbia, Mo.-based community bank in an all-stock deal valued at nearly $435 million. Bank officials said the deal will allow the Arkansas regional bank to bolster its recently expanded operations in Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma.
Based on the definitive agreement signed by Simmons and The Landrum Co., the parent company of the privately-held Landmark Bank of Columbia, Simmons will acquire all the outstanding capital stock of Landrum. After closing, Landmark Bank is expected to continue operations as a separate bank subsidiary of Simmons for an interim period until it is merged with and into Simmons Bank.
The surprise deal with Landmark Bank will be Simmons’ second major acquisition in the “Show Me State” in 2019 and will expand the fast-growing Pine Bluff regional banking group’s footprint from the thriving urban market in St. Louis to the state’s fastest growing city in Columbia, the Ozark college town of nearly 125,000 people and home to flagship University of Missouri.
During the second quarter, Simmons First completed its acquisition of St. Louis-based Reliance Bancshares Inc. in a $214 million cash-and-stock deal first announced in November.