Northern Star Financial, Inc. Announces Merger Agreement with River City Mortgage and RHS Title
March 20 2008 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Northern Star Financial, Inc. (OTCBB: NSBK) today announced merger
plans for NSBK and River City Mortgage and RHS Title, wholly-owned
subsidiaries of River City Group of Eagan, Minnesota. The Agreement
is subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed. River City Mortgage is a mortgage banker involved in the
origination of residential real estate mortgage loans for various
lenders. RHS Title is a title insurance agency providing title
insurance, escrow and closing services in connection with
residential and commercial real estate properties. The Company was
founded in 1984 as an originator of high quality conventional and
government guaranteed loans. River City Mortgage and RHS Title will
continue to operate under their current name as an operating
division and a subsidiary of Northern Star Bank. Northern Star Bank
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Star Financial. "We are
very pleased to have reached this agreement providing for a merger
of equals," said Thomas Stienessen, Chief Executive Officer of
Northern Star Financial. "This is a major undertaking for our
organization that will be made easier by the long-term relationship
we have enjoyed and the commonality of interest. I have known and
admired the company and its principals for years, and we are
excited about our future potential together. We believe the
resulting organization will benefit from an expanded footprint in
the market place and from the managerial resources, clients,
products, services and capital the merger of our two companies
brings�. "We are very excited about the opportunity to merge with
Northern Star," said Louis Olsen, the founder of River City. "We
look forward to becoming part of Northern Star Financial. Our
long-term relationship and trust lead us to this opportunity to
grow together while benefiting our customers, communities and
shareholders. This is a natural fit for both companies and will
help us contribute to the banks growth and earnings. We expect that
we will double our mortgage originations and significantly raise
our visibility in the mortgage industry with an expanded menu of
loan products and services while positioning the organization for
continued growth and expansion�. The Northern Star organization
will be joined by 65 additional River City employees at seven title
insurance offices and six prime production offices in the
Minneapolis � St Paul metro area in addition to an office in Grand
Forks, North Dakota and Melbourne, Florida. The Company commenced
operations on January 25, 1999 as a bank holding company whose
subsidiary provides financial services. Northern Star Bank�s
business is that of a financial intermediary and consists primarily
of attracting deposits from the general public and using such
deposits, together with borrowings and other funds, to make secured
and unsecured loans to business and professional concerns and
mortgage loans secured by residential real estate and other
consumer loans. The Bank operates two full-service offices that are
located in Mankato and St. Cloud, Minnesota. THIS PRESS RELEASE
CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER.
Statements that Northern Star Financial may publish, including
those in this announcement that are not strictly historical, are
�forward-looking� statements made under the safe harbor provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are inherently unreliable and actual
results may vary. Factors which could cause actual results to
differ from these forward-looking statements include changes in the
competitive marketplace, changes in the interest rate environment,
economic conditions, outcome of pending litigation, risks
associated with credit quality and other factors discussed in the
Company�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.