The biggest bank buy to date for Fayetteville’s Arvest Bank is headed for completion around April 20 at last report. But some loose ends are still in play with the $391 million acquisition of Little Rock’s Bear State Financial Inc.
Soon after the proposed deal was announced in August, lawsuits seeking class-action status cropped up against Bear State.
Gone are two cases filed in Little Rock U.S. District Court by Michael Reichert of Little Rock and Paul Parshall, whose name comes up with a string of stockholder lawsuits.
Parshall’s case was voluntarily dismissed in November. Reichert’s followed the same course in December.
Still active is a third case that began in Pulaski County Circuit Court in September, moved to federal court in November and was remanded back to state court in March.
Edward Hurliman is carrying the legal torch in the litigation that began with another Bear State shareholder, James Owen.
Among the issues raised in the Hurliman case is Arvest’s current all-cash offer of $10.28 per share. According to court filings, the Walton family-owned bank initially made a contingent offer of $10.53 per share in June.
In August, after due diligence, the Arvest offer was reduced to $10.28.
The Hurliman case and the other two lawsuits that fell by the wayside took umbrage with the Bear State directors for not doing a better job of shopping for a buyer.
Another loose end is the regulator-mandated requirement for Bear State to divest of its two Mena locations as a condition for the Arvest acquisition to proceed.
What was behind the Federal Reserve decision that led to Bear State striking a deal to sell the branches to El Dorado’s First Financial Bank?
Bear State held the second largest market share for deposits in Polk County, 18.2 percent. Arvest held the third largest share, nearly 7.6 percent.
The combination would’ve still trailed a distant second behind Union Bank of Mena, which holds a 60.5 percent share of deposits in Polk County.
But the consolidation of Bear State-Arvest would’ve reduced the competitive field to only four lenders in the market. Diamond Bank of Murfreesboro and Chambers Bank of Danville round out the local roster.
Bear State Financial Inc.
Little Rock
42 full-service locations:
30 in Arkansas, 10 in Missouri and two in Oklahoma
| Total Assets | Net Income | Staff | |
| 2017 | $2,160,963 | $21,311 | 394 |
| 2016* | $2,053,175 | $17,459 | 484 |
| 2015 | $1,920,216 | $10,574 | 392 |
| 2014** | $1,514,595 | $24,306 | 413 |
| 2013 | $548,872 | $729 | 182 |
| 2012 | $530,395 | $755 | 179 |
| 2011# | $579,046 | -$19,034 | 203 |
| 2010 | $600,046 | -$4,035 | 229 |
| 2009 | $731,070 | -$45,498 | 255 |
| 2008 | $795,172 | $2,507 | 290 |
| 2007 | $791,978 | $2,643 | 300 |
All dollars in thousands.
* Reflects the $70 million purchase of Metropolitan National Bank of Springfield, Missouri.
** Reflects the $124 million acquisition of First National Security Co. of Hot Springs.
# Bear State investors buy control of First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas Inc. of Harrison in a $6 million deal with the United States Department of the Treasury and a $46.3 million infusion of new capital.
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