BOK acquires Denver-based bank

TULSA — Tulsa-based BOK Financial Corp. has agreed to buy Denverbased CoBiz Financial Inc.

The transaction is valued at nearly $1 billion, with about 75 percent of the purchase price covered with stock and the rest in cash.

Shareholders of CoBiz will receive $977 million, consisting of 0.17 share of BOK Financial common stock and $5.70 in cash for each share of CoBiz common stock.

The merger is valued at $23.02 per share, based on the Friday's closing price of BOK Financial.

CoBiz has operations in Colorado and Arizona. The bank has about $3.8 billion in assets.

CoBiz Chairman and CEO Steve Bangert will join the BOK Financial board of cirectors after the close of the transaction.

“Steve Bangert and his team have built a well-respected commercially focused bank that has consistently grown shareholder value, with a strong credit culture and differentiated approach to business banking,” BOK Financial President and CEO Steven G. Bradshaw said in a statement issued by the company.

“The two banks have enjoyed a close relationship for almost two decades, and both franchises will benefit as a result of this partnership.”

Bangert said he is looking forward to the opportunities the merger will provide to CoBiz customers.

“This merger will allow us to better serve our markets and provide customers with a more robust product offering, higher lending limits and a banking franchise that spans the lower Midwest and Southwest,” Bangert said.

“BOK Financial enjoys an outstanding reputation as a supporter of the communities it serves, and we’re so pleased to join forces with a company that shares a similar approach to how we serve our customers, our employees and our communities.”

BOK Financial expects to incur pretax merger and integration costs of about $60 million and expects to achieve annual cost savings of about 40 percent of CoBiz’s noninterest expense.