Equity Bancshares To Buy Bank Of Kirksville Owner Rockhold In $44.3 Mln Deal

(RTTNews) - Equity Bancshares, Inc. (EQBK), the Wichita-based holding company of Equity Bank, announced Wednesday that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Rockhold Bancorp, the parent company of the Bank of Kirksville.

Equity will pay around $44.3 million in cash to acquire Rockhold and Bank of Kirksville.

Equity expects the merger to be $0.36, or 12 percent accretive, to diluted earnings per share in 2024, and $0.45, or 14.3 percent accretive, to earnings per share in 2025.

The closing of the deal is expected in the first quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Rockhold's sole shareholder has approved the transaction.

Following completion of the merger, Bank of Kirksville will merge with and into Equity Bank, adding eight locations to Equity Bank's current network.

Bank of Kirksville, which was established in 1914, currently operates eight locations in North Central Missouri. As of September 30, the bank had $406 million in consolidated total assets, $344 million in total deposits, including $311 million in core deposits, and $122 million in loans.

Following the deal closure, Norman Belitz, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Kirksville, will join Equity Bank as Regional Market President.

In the deal, Equity Bancshares was advised by Stephens Inc., and Bank of Kirksville was advised by The Capital Corp.