S&C Advises First Busey in $916.8 Million Merger with CrossFirst

First Busey Corporation announced its pending merger with CrossFirst Bankshares for $916.8 million in stock, marking the largest deal First Busey has announced.

The combined company, which will operate under the Busey brand, will have $20 billion in total assets, $17 billion in total deposits and $13 billion in wealth management assets, with 77 full-service locations across 10 states. Upon completion, First Busey stockholders will own 63.5 percent of the combined company and CrossFirst stockholders will own 36.5 percent.

First Busey is the holding company for Busey Bank and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

CrossFirst Bankshares is the holding company for Kansas City area-based CrossFirst Bank.

The S&C team advising First Busey on corporate, M&A and bank regulatory matters includes Mark Menting, Ethan Chess and Ashram Gautam. Matt Friestedt, Sarah Remmer Long and Natasha Rygnestad-Stahl are advising on executive compensation matters.