NewStar Financial, a Massachusetts-based commercial finance company, has terminated its agreement to acquire Florida-based Southern Commerce Bank, and withdrawn its related regulatory applications.
Timothy Conway, CEO of NewStar, said: “We have decided to terminate the agreement because it has become unlikely that we would receive approval of our applications on terms that would allow the company to achieve its objectives, which relied on our ability to restructure the combined company’s balance sheet.”
Although we have decided to terminate the proposed acquisition of Southern Commerce Bank, acquiring and developing a commercial banking platform remains an attractive strategic opportunity for the company. We expect to continue to consider alternative approaches to acquiring a commercial bank that advance the company’s business goals and meet the policy objectives of federal banking regulators,” he added.
Mr. Conway has also said that in addition to depository-based strategy options, NewStar continues to pursue other alternatives to finance the company’s operations and manage its core business with a focus on maximizing liquidity, managing the company’s credit portfolio and taking appropriate steps to protect the balance sheet.
