Michigan's third largest bank has arrived by way of a merger. Firstbank and Mercantile have been working on the move for some time, and they just finished it and began operating as one financial entity. Despite the combination of the two, operations are going to continue to be run under the name of Mercantile Bank Corp.
Reports indicate that the bank now has assets in the realm of $2.9 billion. On top of that, there are 53 bank offices scattered throughout the state. They will continue to use the main Mercantile headquarters building, which can be found on Leonard St. NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
As far as stock is concerned, those who previously held Firstbank stock are simply going to get a single stock in Mercantile for each of those Firstbank shares. The shareholders who were already affiliated with Mercantile got a dividend in the last month at a rate of $2 per share. This was prior to the completion of the merger.
In the immediate wake of the merger, shares dipped slightly, hitting $20.94. They dropped around 2.29 percent, going down by 49 cents for each share.
However, the chief executive officer of the bank is optimistic. Among other things, he pointed out that the bank's geographical size was simply larger now, indicating that this would make the institution stronger as a whole.
Shareholders and potential customers alike need to be aware of any changes to their bank accounts, as they may need to utilize new websites for online banking or new branch locations. Shareholders in particular should pay attention to this move to see how their shares change in price with the growing institution. After any mergers of this size, it is important for those who have invested in either side to know what their investments are now worth.
Source: MLive, "Mercantile and Firstbank complete merger, begin combined operations as Michigan's 3rd largest bank" Jim Harger, Jun. 02, 2014
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