Great Southern acquires 3 Peoples branches

The banks reached an agreement May 5 for a sale price of 3 percent of deposits, about $1 million, plus $900,000 for real estate and fixed assets, according to Great Southern’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission May 6.

The Peoples Bank branches included in the sale report $35 million in deposits and $14 million in loans, which Great Southern is acquiring at par value.

While the transaction is pending state and federal bank regulatory approval, bank officials expect the acquisition to close Aug. 5.

The three branches – in Camdenton, Climax Springs and Greenview – will give Springfield-based Great Southern 34 branches in southwest and central Missouri. Great Southern already has branches in nearby Osage Beach, Lebanon and Buffalo.

“We had this area sort of surrounded, so the acquisition of these three branches really fills in the Lake of the Ozarks area for us,” said Joe Turner, Great Southern Bank’s president and CEO. “It was an opportunity for us to acquire branches, deposits, customer relationships, and you have a branch system already in place with outstanding associates right now.”

There are 14 full-time employees at the three branches, and Turner said that offers of employment would be extended to all of them.

Richard Wilson, chief financial officer for Peoples Bank of the Ozarks, said the three branches had been under evaluation for two years.

“Central Missouri seems to be a totally different market than southwest Missouri,” Wilson said, adding that the sale allows for greater concentration on southwest Missouri. “In that market, we go a couple of hours away (between locations) in each direction. (Our time) will be able to be spent doing a better job down here and hopefully expanding our current relationships here.”

Great Southern, Wilson said, seemed to be a good fit since it already had branches nearby.

Wilson said the sale would not affect Peoples Bank’s nine remaining branches. Peoples Bank, based in Nixa, has total assets of $280 million and was founded in 1917. Peoples Bank plans to build a 10th branch in Ozark by the end of the year.

Great Southern Bank, founded in 1923, has total assets of $1.91 billion and offers banking, investment, insurance and travel services. The publicly traded bank ranked No. 12 in SBJ’s 2004 Dynamic Dozen, which honors 12 of the fastest-growing companies in the Ozarks.

Shares of Great Southern Bancorp (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed May 11 at $29.01. Great Southern Bancorp’s annual shareholder meeting is 10 a.m. May 17 at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.