CU acquires bank in Florida. (Source: Shutterstock)
Six months after announcing its plans to acquire Pilot Bank, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Lake Michigan Credit Union completed the purchase of the $656 million bank located in Tampa, Fla. on Tuesday.
A statement from LMCU ($10.6 billion in assets, 420,165 members) read the "acquisition represents a number of positive developments for the members of both LMCU and Pilot Bank." The statement also pointed out that LMCU now has 19 branches throughout Southwest Florida, including the six new branches from the acquisition of Pilot Bank.
LMCU President and CEO, Sandy Jelinski said, "This is an exciting opportunity for our collective members and our staff, because we'll be able to serve even more members by providing outstanding value and exceptional service. The Pilot Tampa and St. Petersburg branches expand our service coverage in Florida without any overlap, so it is a great fit. The team at Pilot Bank is a pleasure to work with and I am confident that together we will quickly become a key player in the Tampa Bay market."
Roy Hellwege, chairman/CEO of Pilot Bank, will serve as the president of LMCU's Central Florida region. Hellwege said, "Joining LMCU is very exciting because Pilot, like LMCU, has always been focused on doing what is right for our customers and members. Additionally, LMCU shares a lot of the same beliefs and values about community service that we cultivated at Pilot, so I know this partnership will greatly benefit our members and local communities in new ways."
When the acquisition proposal was announced in June of this year, LMCU stated it would acquire Pilot Bank in an all-cash transaction and Pilot shareholders would receive $6.25 in cash for each share. Also, "LMCU will also cash out the outstanding options at Pilot at the difference between the strike price and the per-share cash consideration to Pilot shareholders." the statement read.
LMCU is the largest credit union in the Great Lakes State and employs more than 1,550 people.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
