Nicolet Bankshares Agrees to Acquire Commerce State Bank for Nearly $130M

GREEN BAY, WIS. — Nicolet Bankshares Inc. has agreed to acquire Commerce Financial Holdings Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Commerce State Bank. The deal is valued at approximately $129.6 million. The combined company is expected to have pro forma assets of $4.3 billion, deposits of $3.6 billion and loans of $3.2 billion. Commerce would represent approximately 16 percent of the combined company’s year-end assets. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. Nicolet Bankshares is the bank holding company of Nicolet National Bank. Founded in Green Bay in 2000, the bank operates branches in northeast and central Wisconsin as well as the upper peninsula of Michigan. West Bend-based Commerce was the 20th largest bank in the Milwaukee area last year, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.