M&A Update: Fifth Third Acquires Healthcare Fintech
Fifth Third Bancorp has acquired a healthcare fintech company that seeks to improve the offering within the healthcare sector.
The banking and finance giant has announced the acquisition of Big Data Healthcare, which specializes in “health care payments and remittance”, according to a statement from Fifth Third.
“The healthcare sector is one of the largest and fastest growing segments of the US economy. It is the first and largest of our industrial focus areas,” said Kevin Lavender, head of commercial banking at Fifth Third Bank. “Together we can deliver a specialized customer experience driven by innovation.”
The fintech company, founded in 2017, will become part of Fifth Third’s Treasury Management and Commercial Banking businesses. No financial terms were disclosed.
Meanwhile, Maryland-based Shore Bancshares has been given the green light by regulators for its planned acquisition of The Community Financial Corporation (TCFC).
Shore Bancshares is the holding company for Shore United Bank, while TCFC owns Community Bank of the Chesapeake, which will merge into Shore United Bank upon completion of the deal, expected on July 1, 2023. The deal remains subject to approval by Shore Bancshares’ shareholders.
Separately, Pennsylvania-headquartered LINKBANCORP is to acquire Partners Bancorp in a $167.8 million deal, the two organizations announced last month.
Partners Bancorp is the parent company of The Bank of Delmarva and Virginia Partners Bank, both of which will merge into LINKBANK and take over this brand. Upon completion, the combined company will have nearly $3 billion in assets.
John Breda, president, CEO and director of Partners Bancorp, said the transaction “accelerates our strategic goals of creating the leading community bank headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic markets.”
He added: “Our combined size and resources will significantly improve our scale and ability to help clients through higher lending limits and greater investment in technology, and will increase career opportunities for employees.”
Breda will become managing director of the Delmarva market after completion of the agreement. The combined group will be led by Andrew Samuel as CEO. The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Finally, Illinois-based Longview Community Bank will merge with another Illinois bank, Bank of Chestnut. According to a statement on the latter’s website, the merger will take place “in the spring of 2023” with Longview “Continue[ing] to offer expanded banking services in Chestnut with the same great people”. No other details have been released.
