Mercantile Bancorporation
Mercantile Bancorporation was the largest bank holding company in Missouri when it was acquired by Firstar Corporation in 1999.[1]
The Mercantile Bank of St. Louis was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850.
In 1996 its chief executive Thomas H. Jacobsen began a series of 24 acquisitions over three years increasing its assets from $15.9 billion to $35.8 billion.[2] One of the biggest acquisitions was that of Mark Twain Bancshares in 1996.[3]
At the time of its acquisition Mercantile was a $36 billion multi-bank holding company headquartered in St. Louis operating 500 locations in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas and Kentucky. Its individual components were:[4]
- Mercantile Bank, N.A., St. Louis, Missouri
- Mercantile Bank, Overland Park, Kansas
- Mercantile Bank of Arkansas, N.A.
- Mercantile Bank Midwest in Iowa
- Mercantile Bank of Kentucky
- Mercantile Bank of Trenton in Missouri
- Mercantile Bank of Illinois
- Mercantile Trust Company, N.A. in St. Louis
History
Expansion in Missouri
In October 1996, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the St. Louis-based Mark Twain Bancshares Inc. with its Mark Twain Bank subsidiary for $855 million in stock.[5][6] At the time of the announcement, Mercantile had 440 branches in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas while Mark Twain had 39 branches in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield areas. The acquisition by was completed in April 1997.[7]
In December 1996, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Chesterfield-based Roosevelt Financial Group Inc. with its Roosevelt Bank subsidiary for $1.07 billion in stock and cash.[8][9][10] At the time of the announcement, Mercantile had more than 500 branches in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas while Roosevelt had 83 locations in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. To allow the merger to proceed, the Federal Reserve Board ordered Mercantile to divest banks in five markets.[11] Due to overlapping branches, Mercantile said it was planning to close 50 branch offices.[8] The acquisition by was completed in July 1997.[12]
See also
References
- ^ profile in International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 33. St. James Press, 2000 - via fundinguniverse.com
- ^ O'Brien, Timothy L. (May 1, 1999). "Mercantile Bancorporation, Long a Buyer, Will Be Bought". New York Times.
- ^ McCarthy, Michael J. (1996-10-29). "Mercantile Bancorp. to Acquire Mark Twain for $792 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|subscription=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help) - ^ "Firstar Corporation Shareholders Approve Merger With Mercantile Bancorporation, Inc". Business Wire (Press release). July 28, 1999 – via findArticles.
{{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)[dead link] - ^ "Adding Another Bank: Mercantile To Acquire Mark Twain". Chicago Tribune. October 29, 1996.
- ^ "Mercantile In $855 Million Deal for Mark Twain". New York Times. October 29, 1996.
- ^ "Mercantile Bancorporation Completes Merger with Mark Twain Bancshares". PR Newswire (Press release). April 25, 1997.
- ^ a b Bagli, Charles V. (December 24, 1996). "St. Louis Bank Acquiring Rival For $1 Billion". New York Times.
- ^ "$1 Billion Deal Creates Largest Missouri Bank". Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. December 24, 1996.
- ^ "Another Purchase For Mercantile Bancorporation". Chicago Tribune. December 24, 1996.
- ^ "Fed approves Mercantile buy of Roosevelt". St. Louis Business Journal. June 4, 1997.
- ^ "Mercantile Bancorporation Inc. Completes Merger With Roosevelt Financial Group, Inc". PR Newswire (Press release). July 1, 1997.