By Greg Edwards
The parent company of The Business Bank of St. Louis has raised $10 million in capital from a California fund that invests in community banks and that has ties to St. Louis.
The investor is Castle Creek Capital of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. A Castle Creek partner, Mark Merlo, used to live in St. Louis and is a 1984 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. “We’ve known him for 20-plus years,” Larry Kirby, president and chief executive of the bank, told the Business Journal.*
The proceeds will be used to strengthen the bank’s capital, reduce debt and support growth, including possible acquisitions.
Here are the details of deal, which closed Nov. 4 and has been in the works for months: Business Bancshares Inc. receives $10 million through a private placement of 203,067 shares of common stock and 392,171 shares of non-voting common stock at a price of $16.80 a share purchased by the Castle Creek Capital Partners Fund V.