Nicolet Bankshares Acquires County Bancorp In $219M Deal

Nicolet Bankshares will acquire County Bancorp and its banking subsidiary, Investors Community Bank, in a deal valued at roughly $219 million, according to a press release published on Tuesday (June 22).

The newly combined company will hold total assets of $7.5 billion, $6.3 billion in deposits and $4.9 billion in loans, going by first-quarter financial results. These values also include the assets from Mackinac Financial Corporation, which Nicolet acquired in April of this year.

The merger of these two Wisconsin-based banks will boost Nicolet’s agricultural production lending offerings, the press release noted, and will also help County better serve new and existing customers.

“One of the goals of every acquisition is to find better ways to serve communities. This partnership is an intentional, strategic move to become the premier agriculture lender throughout Wisconsin,” Mike Daniels, president and CEO of Nicolet, said in the release. “We are excited about adding the expertise and specialized knowledge of the banking team from investors, who, like our current agriculture lenders, have boots in the driveways.”

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“We remain committed to the markets and industries we serve, especially the dairy sector, and above all, keeping banking local,” said Tim Schneider, president of County.

Schneider will join Nicolet’s senior management team as agriculture lending manager, a senior vice president position. A member of County’s board of directors will also join Nicolet’s and Nicolet National Bank’s boards of directors.

Bank mergers and acquisitions have been on the rise post-pandemic: April saw 19 deals, the most since the pandemic began.