CoBiz Financial to merge with Colorado State Bank and Trust parent

DENVER — CoBiz Financial Inc., (NASDAQ: COBZ) with bank locations throughout the metro area, Boulder, Louisville and in Fort Collins, will merge with BOK Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:BOKF), according to an announcement this morning. Colorado State Bank and Trust is a division of BOK Financial.

The two financial institutions have signed a definitive merger agreement. The transaction is valued at approximately $1 billion. About 75 percent of the consideration will be in stock, with the rest in cash.

Based on the closing price of BOK Financial’s common shares on June 15, common shareholders of CoBiz will receive $977 million of total consideration, consisting of 0.17 shares of BOK Financial common stock and $5.70 in cash for each share of CoBiz common stock. The merger consideration is valued at $23.02 per share, based on the closing price of BOK Financial on June 15.

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CoBiz is headquartered in Denver, with approximately $3.8 billion in assets. CoBiz is a commercially-focused bank, with presence in Colorado and Arizona, specialty lending lines of business including healthcare and public finance, and fee-generating businesses including wealth management and commercial insurance. CoBiz Chairman and CEO Steve Bangert will join the BOK Financial board of directors after the close of the transaction.

BOK Financial Corp. is a $33 billion regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Okla. BOK Financial’s holdings include BOKF, NA; BOK Financial Securities Inc. and The Milestone Group Inc. BOKF, NA operates TransFund, Cavanal Hill Investment Management, BOK Financial Asset Management Inc. and seven banking divisions: Bank of Albuquerque, Bank of Arizona, Bank of Arkansas, Mobank, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas and Colorado State Bank and Trust, which has a Boulder location.

“CoBiz is a perfect fit as a merger partner for BOK Financial,” said Steven G. Bradshaw, president and chief executive officer of BOK Financial. “Steve Bangert and his team have built a well-respected commercially-focused bank that has consistently grown shareholder value, with a strong credit culture and differentiated approach to business banking. The two banks have enjoyed a close relationship for almost two decades, and both franchises will benefit as a result of this partnership.  We believe the combined organization will be the premier commercial bank in Colorado and Arizona.”

“The merger drives an internal rate of return in excess of 20 percent, is materially accretive to earnings per share, enhances our return on equity and return on assets, and provides further geographic diversity for both banks’ loan and deposit portfolio. In addition, the issuance of over 7 million shares as consideration for CoBiz shareholders should provide additional trading liquidity in BOK Financial common stock,” said Bradshaw.  

Bangert added, “CoBiz is joining forces with one of the most respected regional banks in the country. This merger will allow us to better serve our markets and provide customers with a more robust product offering, higher lending limits and a banking franchise that spans the lower Midwest and Southwest.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals as well as the approval of CoBiz shareholders. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.

BOK Financial has posted a presentation on its website. To access the presentation, go to www.bokf.com.