First Busey Corporation, holding company of Busey Bank, Champaign, Illinois, is acquiring CrossFirst Bankshares Inc., holding company for CrossFirst Bank, Leawood, Kansas, in a merger transaction announced on Aug. 27 and valued at $916.8 million. Pending regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to close in the first or second quarter of 2025 with the merged banks operating under the Busey Bank name by mid-year. The combined company will have approximately $20 billion in total assets, approximately $17 billion in total deposits, $15 billion in total loans and approximately $13 billion in wealth management assets under care, expanding Busey’s footprint into Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Busey and CrossFirst have navigated 11 combined mergers and integrations since 2013, including Busey’s acquisition earlier this year of Merchants & Manufacturers Bank, Joliet, Illinois. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS ISCDC is affiliated with Cambridge Capital Management Corporation, an IBA associate member. Examples of partnerships with ISCDC: ▶ First Bank of Richmond – Partnership announced in September helped Pilgrimage Wine Company buy new equipment and open a tasting room on their Wayne County property. Owners Scott and Emma Eckart say the loan is helping them start their winery several years earlier than expected. The property has been in Scott’s family for 60 years. ▶ GBC Bank, Greenfield – Polk Stables is a new COhatch co-working and arts center next to the Monon Trail in Indianapolis. Originally constructed in 1888, it once housed mules that pulled insulated carts to deliver milk for Polk Sanitary Milk Company. This partnership, announced in September, helped Sajan George, principal owner and manager for Polk Stables Group, buy and rebuild the 21,741 square-foot facility to feature 38 private offices and more than 100 co-working seats. Partnership Financing is an occasional column in Hoosier Banker featuring examples of IBA-member institutions engaging in partnership lending to better help the communities they serve. Send your examples to HB@indiana.bank. Congratulations to the following employees of the Indiana Bankers Association, who have reached milestone anniversaries. They will be recognized at a staff holiday party in December. Susan Clark, events & products/services assistant, has celebrated 20 years of service. She joined the IBA as a registrar, was promoted in 2008 to events & communications assistant, and was named to her current position in 2014. Clark attended Alma College. Rod Lasley, chief operating officer, marked 15 years with the IBA this year. He also serves as president of two for-profit subsidiaries of the Association. Lasley joined the IBA as member services representative before being promoted to vice president-products & services and executive vice president-operations and member services. Before joining the Association, he worked in banking for 18 years, the last three as president and CEO of North Salem State Bank. In that capacity, he served as president of the IBA Future Leadership Division and a member of the IBA Board of Directors. Lasley graduated from DePauw University and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Josh Myers, vice president-member engagement, celebrated his 15th anniversary with the IBA this year. He has previously served as executive & government relations coordinator and assistant vice president-member engagement. Myers graduated from Purdue University. Elizabeth “Liz” DeHaven, education manager, has marked her 10th anniversary with the IBA. She joined the Association in 2014 as education meeting coordinator after experience in marketing and customer service at various retail operations. DeHaven attended Ball State University. IBA STAFF MILESTONES NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 53
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