First Busey in Champaign, Ill., has agreed to buy CrossFirst Bankshares in Leawood, Kan.
The $12 billion-asset First Busey said in a press release that it will pay $916.8 million in stock for the $8 billion-asset CrossFirst. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.
“The partnership between our high-quality franchises is a great fit from a strategic, financial and cultural perspective, and we look forward to capitalizing on the many opportunities we see as a combined company in 2025 and beyond,” Van Dukeman, First Busey’s chairman and CEO, said in the release.
“CrossFirst is a natural fit alongside Busey’s established commercial and wealth management offerings and our payment technology solutions business,” Dukeman added. “By leveraging CrossFirst’s established presence in attractive markets with compelling growth potential, this partnership is expected to serve as a catalyst for additional commercial banking growth.”
First Busey, which will move its headquarters to Leawood, will enter several new markets, including Kansas City, Dallas, Denver and Phoenix.
First Busey said the deal should be 20% accretive to its 2026 earnings per share. It should take six months to earn back an estimated 0.6% dilution to tangible book value.
First Busey expects to incur $75.3 million of merger-related expenses. It plans to cut about 16% of CrossFirst’s annual noninterest expenses, or about $25 million.
The company expects to lose about $1.6 million of CrossFirst’s interchange fee income because of the Durbin Amendment.
Five CrossFirst directors will join First Busey’s board. Mike Maddox, CrossFirst’s president and CEO, will become First Busey’s president and CEO of its bank, while Rod Brenneman, CrossFirst’s chairman, will become lead independent director.
Raymond James and Sullivan & Cromwell advised First Busey. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Squire Patton Boggs advised CrossFirst.