M&I planning to purchase St. Louis holding company

Northwestern Financial Review, Jul 15-Jul 31, 2002

Marshall & Ilsley Corporation, Milwaukee, plans to acquire Mississippi Valley Bancshares, Inc., St. ouis, the holding company for Southwest Bank.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to be accretive to earnings in 2003. Purchase price is $502 million.

Mississippi Valley Bancshares, Inc., with $2 billion in assets, has eight Southwest Bank offices located in St. Louis, Belleville, Ill., and Phoenix. Marshall & Ilsley has a large banking presence in Wisconsin with 215 offices throughout the state backed by $28.6 billion in assets.

"St. Louis is a vibrant center of commerce and research and offers us an opportunity to expand with a well-respected team of St. Louis bankers. This is consistent with our strategy to diversify our growth opportunities in both our banking business and Metavante, our technology company," said Dennis J. Kuester, president and chief executive officer, Marshall & Ilsley. "Southwest Bank also has a philosophy on credit that is aligned with our own."

"We had thought about this for some time, but had never before found the right partner. M&I is a very comfortable fit with Southwest Bank," said Andrew N. Baur, chairman of Mississippi Valley Bancshares.

M&I plans to retain the Southwest Bank name in the St. Louis market. The bank's board of directors will also remain in place to help guide the merger. Baur will join the board of directors of Marshall & Ilsley upon the close of the transaction.