C1 shareholders approve Ozarks merger

ST. PETERSBURG -- C1 Financial Inc. announced that a majority of its shareholders of C1 common stock have voted to approve a merger agreement with Bank of the Ozarks Inc.

The transaction is expected to close late in the first quarter or in the second quarter of 2016, according to a statement released late last week at a special meeting of its shareholders.

C1 Financial is the parent company of St. Petersburg-based C1 Bank, an institution that got its start in Manatee County 20 years ago. In early November, the company announced that it would be acquired by Bank of the Ozarks for $402.5 million.

The deal gives Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks a bigger hold in the Florida market. In adding C1's 32 branches to its portfolio, it quadruples the number of its locations across the state. In terms of total deposits, it becomes the state's 31st biggest bank, up from 57th according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

With $1.7 billion in total assets, C1 bank was the 18th largest Florida-based bank in the state. Bank of the Ozarks, which operates throughout the southern U.S. and in New York and California, boasts $9.3 billion in total assets.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 10:46 AM with the headline "C1 shareholders approve Ozarks merger ."