EverBank Financial Corp. agreed Sept. 15 to buy Sterling Bank and Trust and its 25 California branches but wanted no part of the bank’s troubled parent company, according to a proxy statement filed by Sterling Bancorp Inc.
Jacksonville-based EverBank agreed to pay $261 million to Michigan-based Sterling Bancorp to buy its bank subsidiary.
After that deal is completed, expected early in 2025, publicly traded Sterling Bancorp will dissolve and distribute the $261 million to its shareholders.
Sterling Bancorp began looking for a buyer in December 2022 and as it discussed deals with potential buyers, it agreed in March 2023 to plead guilty to securities fraud related to a mortgage program at the bank.
The proxy statement filed Oct. 16 said that in a telephone conversation between Sterling and EverBank officials in July 2024, “EverBank indicated that it would now be willing to acquire the Bank in a merger of the Bank with and into EverBank, National Association but in no event would it be willing to acquire the Company because of collateral consequences from acquiring an entity that is subject to a guilty plea for securities fraud.”
EverBank made an offer in May to acquire just the bank’s offices in California, but Sterling officials thought that deal would be too complicated for several reasons, including its need to deal with the bank’s other two branches in Michigan and Flushing, New York.
Everbank eventually did agree to buy Sterling Bank with its 25 California offices and the one New York branch. The branch at Sterling’s headquarters in Southfield, Michigan, will be closed.
The structure of the deal “would result in the Company receiving cash consideration and then winding down, which would permit a significantly faster distribution of transaction proceeds to the Company’s shareholders compared to the previously proposed structure,” the proxy statement said.
“EverBank’s retail deposit business is conducted primarily through its online direct bank and is seeking a stable branch platform to diversify and expand funding sources, including a California operation where a portion of its management team is located,” the statement said.
EverBank does most of its business online but has four full-service branches in Jacksonville and six in other Florida cities, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
It opened a new Jacksonville branch Oct. 22 at 4211 San Juan Blvd. in the Ortega neighborhood, which replaced a branch at 501 Riverside Ave.
The bank announced Oct. 22 it plans to open another branch at 2200 S. Third St. in Jacksonville Beach.
EverBank announced another agreement Oct. 24 to buy the life insurance premium financing division of Virginia-based Primis Bank.
EverBank is privately owned by a group of investment firms and just as with the Sterling deal, it is buying a business from a publicly traded company. So EverBank left it up to parent company Primis Financial Corp. to announce terms of the deal.
Primis said EverBank is paying a premium of $6 million to acquire a portfolio of $370 million of loans.
“Life insurance is a critical piece of the financial plans of many high-net-worth individuals, particularly business owners, entrepreneurs and their families, who rely on life premium financing to fund complex insurance solutions,” EverBank CEO Greg Seibly said in a news release.
“We’re pleased to bring this new lending product to EverBank’s consumer and commercial banking clients across the country and know it will make an important difference in many peoples’ lives,” he said.
Primis’ CEO is Dennis Zember, former chief executive of Ameris Bancorp.
Ameris’ executive offices were in Jacksonville, but Zember resigned when Ameris acquired Fidelity Southern Corp. in 2019, and the company’s headquarters moved to Fidelity Southern’s home in Atlanta.
The St. Joe Co. announced Oct. 23 that its chairman and largest shareholder, Bruce Berkowitz, retired from its board of directors.
Berkowitz, who controls about 36% of St. Joe’s stock, had been chairman since he pushed a management shake-up of the real estate development company in 2011.
St. Joe was a Jacksonville-based industrial conglomerate before selling off its other businesses to focus on development of its large land holdings in West Florida, and it moved its headquarters to the Panhandle in 2010 to be closer to its operations.
The company is now headquartered in Panama City Beach.
“CEO Jorge Gonzalez and his management team have prudently positioned St. Joe for long-term, profitable growth. I am confident in the company’s ongoing progress and bright future,” Berkowitz said in a retirement letter to the rest of the board posted in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Berkowitz and his firm, Fairholme Capital Management, began buying St. Joe shares while it was still headquartered in Jacksonville and by 2009 became its largest shareholder.
Berkowitz and another Fairholme official were given seats on St. Joe’s board in January 2011 but they resigned in February 2011 and Berkowitz announced he would nominate an entirely new slate of directors.
Two weeks later, St. Joe announced an agreement with Berkowitz that included the resignation of CEO Britt Greene and three directors.
Berkowitz was named as one of the replacement directors and was elected chairman of the board three days later.
St. Joe also reported Oct. 23 that third-quarter earnings fell 13% to $16.8 million, or 29 cents a share, with revenue falling 2% to $99 million.
The company said the lower results were mainly due to timing of homesite closings and the mix of sales in different residential communities and a reduction in earnings from joint ventures.
However, that was partially offset by growth in hospitality and leasing revenue.
Ponte Vedra Beach-based Cadrenal Therapeutics Inc. boosted its capital by selling $5.1 million in additional stock, the company announced Oct. 24.
Cadrenal is developing an anticoagulant drug called tecarfarin which it says is an alternative treatment for patients with certain conditions.
“The net proceeds provide us with added working capital as we continue developing tecarfarin, prepare for our pivotal Phase 3 trial, and progress our partnering activities,” CEO Quang Pham said in a news release.
Cadrenal reported about $5 million in cash on its balance sheet as of June 30.
The company’s stock has been rising since a 1-for-15 reverse stock split in August needed to increase its trading price to maintain its Nasdaq Capital Market listing.
The stock opened at $5.81 when trading began after the reverse split Aug. 20. Cadrenal sold 391,243 shares at a weighted average price of $13.15 each in the recent sale.
Dream Finders Homes Inc. continues to expand beyond its basic homebuilding business with an agreement to buy a title insurer.
Jacksonville-based Dream Finders announced an agreement Oct. 23 to buy Alliant National Title Insurance Co. Inc.
This follows a deal in July to buy the remaining interest in mortgage company Jet HomeLoans.
Dream Finders owned 60% of Jet before paying $9.3 million to acquire the remaining 40% from its joint venture partner.
Dream Finders did not disclose terms of its agreement to buy Colorado-based Alliant, which operates through 700 independent agents in 32 states and Washington, D.C.
“This is a strategic acquisition for DFH and allows us to further vertically integrate alongside our existing title insurance agency business while facilitating growth in the title insurance marketplace,” CEO Patrick Zalupski said in a news release.
Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., or RYAM, said Oct. 25 it resumed full operations at its Jesup, Georgia, plant ahead of schedule following a fire Oct. 11.
Jacksonville-based RYAM said there were no injuries from the fire at the facility, which is its largest plant.
But when the cellulose specialties products company announced the fire it said it would have to shut some lines temporarily and it expected to be able to resume full operations the week of Oct. 28.
RYAM estimated immediately after the fire it would reduce its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by $15 million to $20 million, subject to any potential insurance recovery. It said Oct. 25 it continues to assess the cost.
The company said it will provide more financial details when it reports third-quarter results Nov. 6.
CSX Corp. announced Oct. 22 it reached new five-year labor agreements with two more unions, bringing the total number of unions reaching agreement to 13, accounting for almost 60% of its union workforce.
The Jacksonville-based railroad company has been working to reach new agreements with unions before the contracts expire at the end of the year.
The contracts are subject to ratification by the unions’ membership.
CSX announced a previous agreement with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division B&O was ratified by the union members.
Jacksonville-based Medical Care Products was acquired by investor Robert Silberwasser, according to a news release by the company’s adviser, Viking Mergers & Acquisitions.
Medical Care Products, founded in 1964, provides disposable medical supplies.
Siblings Patti and Tom Lagenbach had owned the business since 1991 but decided to retire and began looking for a buyer.
Silberwasser has nearly 20 years of experience in the medical sales industry, Viking said.
Terms of the deal were not announced.