Regulators approve sale of Amerant's Houston operations - South Florida Business Journal (2024)

An Oklahoma City-based regional bank received the green light from federal regulators to acquire Amerant Bank's Texas portfolio.

The Coral Gables-based community bank (NYSE: AMTB) submitted a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on July 30 to inform its investors that MidFirst Bank secured approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to buy its Houston operations.

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The deal, which includes six of Amerant's Houston-area branches, $576 million in deposits and $529 million in loans, is expected to close in November. The acquisition was announced in April, and was previously slated to be completed in the second half of this year.

The move follows Amerant's January sale of$401 million in Houston-based multifamily loans, and comes just a year after the bank’s CEO Jerry Plush told the Houston Business Journal that it was renewing its commitment to the market.

The community bank hired Caroline Vérot Moore as its Houston market president in April 2023 and then signed a multiyear partnership deal to become the official bank of Rice University Athletics in June 2023. Amerant first entered Houston in 2006.

Plush previously said in an April investor call that he believes that the Houston operations have the opportunity to double or triple in size, but due to the competition in the local region and the opportunities present in Florida, the bank made the decision to focus its efforts on its home state.

Upon closing of the transaction, all 45 Amerant employees in Houston are expected to join MidFirst, and Amerant’s physical locations will be operated as MidFirst Bank locations.

MidFirst said the deal builds upon the bank’s recent growth in Texas and accelerates its expansion strategy in the Lone Star State.

As of June 30, Amerant reported $9.7 billion in assets, $7.8 billion in deposits and $7.3 billion in loans.

According to MidFirst's most recent available financial statements, it oversees nearly $40 billion in assets, $24.4 billion in deposits and over $30.5 billion in loans and leases, as of March 31.

Boca Raton company files for bankruptcy

A Boca Raton-based laser treatment service provider that has nearly a dozen locations filed for bankruptcy with roughly $4 million in debt.

Body Details LLC petitioned for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, listing over $3.9 million in liabilities and more than $8.7 million in assets. The bankruptcy petition was filed by the company’s CEO, Claudio Sorrentino.

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Body Details, headquartered at 801 N. Federal Highway, operates 11 centers in Georgia and Florida, including six additional South Florida facilities: in Kendall; West Palm Beach; Pembroke Pines; Miami; Fort Lauderdale and Aventura.

The business specializes in laser hair and tattoo removal, but also offers a wide range of non-invasive cosmetic procedures.

The majority of its assets, or roughly $7.4 million, are in machinery and equipment. It also has about $27,500 in cash, held in a Truist business checking account.

Body Details’ largest creditor is New York-based TCP Body Space, to which it owes over $2.5 million for commercial software. Other top creditors include the U.S. Small Business Administration, for $500,000; an American Express credit card, for more than $300,000; Truist, for about $239,000; and Atlanta-based Ameris Bank, for $238,000, for commercial loans tied to some of its machinery.

The company also listed dozens of individuals and companies with equity in the business.

Chad T. Van Horn, the attorney representing Body Details, was not immediately available for comment.

BY THE NUMBERS

Two national accounting firms, both with a significant presence in South Florida, plan to combine. Cleveland-based CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ) said it will acquire New York-based Marcum LLP in a deal valued at $2.3 billion in cash and stocks.

108

Number of Marcum CPAs in South Florida

54

Number of CBIZ CPAs in South Florida

$95 million

Marcum’s South Florida billings in 2023

$28 million

CBIZ’s South Florida billings in 2023

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