Fort Walton Beach, Fla.-based Beach Community Bank called off its pending acquisition of Florida First City Banks Inc. in light of the current economic climate, according to a court filing.
Beach Community Bank on March 24 provided Florida First with verbal notice that it would not be able to satisfy the deal's conditions, according to the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida. Florida First, also based in Fort Walton Beach, in January filed a Chapter 11 petition, which it said would facilitate the transaction.
In the filing, Florida First said a March 26 sale hearing in bankruptcy court could be canceled because there are no other potential bidders qualified or having submitted any bids. The bankruptcy filing affected only the holding company and not the day-to-day operations of unit First City Bank of Florida.
The deal had been expected to close early in the second quarter. The combined company would have had about $675 million in assets, according to a news release announcing the deal.
Other bank deals have been buffeted by the current economic environment. Uniondale, N.Y.-based Flushing Financial Corp. delayed the closing of its pending acquisition of Islandia, N.Y.-based Empire Bancorp Inc. due to market volatility and the challenges the novel coronavirus pandemic is bringing to the financial services industry. Staten Island, N.Y.-based VSB Bancorp Inc. delayed a shareholder vote on its proposed merger into Woodbridge, N.J.-based Northfield Bancorp Inc. due to the pandemic.
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