The Savvy Banker

Bank Mergers: The LOI is signed – Want to know the right way to manage the bank?

Okay, you have signed the letter of intent (LOI).

You have agreed on a framework of terms for merging your bank into the buyer’s bank.

This is still non-binding – it is a letter of intent.

Confidentiality is still critical.

Just ask the PGA – they were at this point when word leaked out...

Bank Mergers: Best time to ask? Right before you sign the letter of intent.

So, let’s run through a scenario where you have narrowed your offers down to two.

Tensions are mounting on all sides.

To get to this point, there has been seven months of very hard work.

That work has been done with very few people even knowing you have been working on it.

As has been m...

Bank Mergers: How to have successful management meetings with a potential buyer (Part 2)

Have a preparatory meeting with your deal team prior to the management meeting with each potential buyer.

Emphasize to them that you do not have any insight into the buyer’s strategy, but that you have a few educated guesses as to what they think may make a powerful combination. Then go through ...

Bank Mergers: How to have successful management meetings with a potential buyer

You now have two offers who are very close to one another, and we’re trying to get some distance between them.

You have asked each suitor to go to the next step in dialing in their offers a bit more.

To do so, they are going to want more information to be able to see if they have any additio...

Bank Mergers: Deconstructing offers to buy your bank for the best deal

As the initial written, non-binding offers came in during our sale process, the investment bankers began to dissect the offers and build a spreadsheet for their study.

While deconstructing our offers, questions arose that required added follow-up by the investment bankers. They needed to gain...

Bank M&A: What do buyers think we’re worth?

Your board decided to pursue the possibility of the sale of your bank.

Information has been collected, organized, and conference calls between the investment bankers have taken place to ensure that the information is a fair representation of the bank.

Research has been conducted by the in...

Bank M&A: Who is really interested and who is lurking?

There are “serial” acquirers.

There are “occasional” acquirers.

There are “future” acquirers.

And there are “lurkers.”

Serial acquirers are just that. It’s part of, if not all, their overall growth strategy. They are very efficient, and they have processes and people for integrating bank a...

Bank Mergers: Non-Disclosure Agreements – How to look at them

As the CEO of your bank going through the bank merger process, you’ve got a great deal at stake, it’s palpable.

We have discussed the importance of keeping things quiet internally (see The Savvy Banker newsletter 032 – Bank M&A: Board “Insider Agreements” is it a best practice to get them?”)....

Bank Mergers: How does a successful “deal team” and data room work?

We had a small but highly effective board of five people.

This is provided for perspective.

There is no right or wrong answer for the size of your board.

Ours happened to be the minimum size allowed by state statute (we were a state-chartered bank).

We felt that size was more efficient for...

Bank M&A: Board “Insider Agreements” is it a best practice to get them?

Any whisper of a potential sale of your bank will decrease the value of the shares and will have your competitors calling your employees and your customers.

The board has an implicit confidentiality agreement they are always operating under.

Legend has it, that whenever word is leaked abo...

Bank M&A: Choosing the right legal counsel for a successful sale

You may think it is your general counsel.

It may be.

But maybe not.

Consider this…

If your bank’s general counsel is actively involved in bank M&A transactions, particularly sell-side bank M&A transactions, they may be.

If they are less than actively involved in sell-side bank M&A t...

Bank Mergers: 10 Top Tips for Professional First Meetings (Part 2)

We spent time in the last newsletter (The Savvy Banker 029) discussing the first of the top 10 tips for first meetings between you and a potential buyer. Today, we’re going to focus on top tips two through ten.

We focused on the importance of moving the potential buyer(s) from the “interest s...

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