La Crosse, Wisc.-based Marine Credit Union has agreed to buy 10 branches of Old National Bank, an Evansville, Indiana-based subsidiary of Old National Bancorp.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition does include $274 million in deposits and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, according to an announcement from the two financial institutions. Marine Credit Union has $756 million assets and about 76,000 members.

“As a mission-focused credit union, we strive to make life better for those around us: our members, our employees and our communities,” Marine Credit Union CEO Shawn Hanson said in the statement. “This acquisition furthers our growth strategy and aligns with our mission. We look forward to welcoming our new employees and new customers as members of Marine Credit Union.”

The branches Marine Credit Union is acquiring are in Chippewa Falls, Columbus, Dodgeville, Eau Claire, Lancaster, Monroe, New Glarus, Platteville, Prairie du Chien and Stanley.

“Marine Credit Union is a strong client- and community-focused organization, and we are confident that our transitioning associates will do a great job of continuing to serve the needs of their clients and communities as members of the Marine team,” Old National Region CEO Len Devaisher said.

Evansville, Ind. has been something of a hotbed for credit union acquisitions lately. In March, Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union announced it was acquiring a community bank 120 miles to the east in Louisville, Ky. That merger is expected to boost the credit union's assets by about $113.4 Today it has $1.5 billion in assets and about 192,000 members.

The acquisition was the credit union's second in the last two years. In late 2016 it received regulatory permission to acquire Evansville's Seaboard Gateway Federal Credit Union.

Credit unions elsewhere have recently announced plans to acquire bank assets as well. Last November, for example, Atlanta-based Georgia's Own Credit Union announced it was buying State Bank of Georgia. Georgia's Own CU has $2.3 billion in assets and about 187,000 members. The bank, headquartered in Fayetteville, Ga., had about $90 million in assets, 4,600 customers and one branch at the time of the announcement, and its markets included Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Tyrone, as well as counties contiguous to Fayetteville County.

The credit union industry's ongoing interest in bank acquisitions has also inspired at least one credit union to create a mergers and acquisitions consulting group to help facilitate more deals. Last June, Dunedin, Florida-based Achieva Credit Union formed Achieva Merger Services to help credit unions and banks find suitable partners and do due diligence, as well as provide pricing analysis, merger applications, regulatory advice, acquisition accounting and integration of operations. Achieva Credit Union has $1.5 billion in assets and about 152,000 members.

“We've gone down this road before, and now we've gathered the experts and the resources to find these opportunities and execute transactions properly,” Achieva EVP Dennis Holthaus said at the time.

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Marine Credit Union to Purchase 10 Bank Branches

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