An investor group is looking to buy First State Bank of Decatur in Michigan.
A group led by Gregg Bigger has applied to buy the $54 million-asset bank, according to the Traverse Ticker. They plan to rebrand First State as Grand Traverse State Bank.
The group must raise $14.5 million by early November to move forward, the publication said. The goal is to purchase and rebrand First State by late 2024.
“People are fascinated by the fact that I negotiated a really good value on this purchase” of First State, Bigger told the publication. “It gives us the ability to scale more quickly and improve the profit profile much earlier.”
Bigger was a founder of Bank of Santa Barbara in California. Connie Deneweth, who is listed as CEO of Traverse City State Bank on her LinkedIn profile, would serve as vice chair.