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Perhaps one lesson from the most recent called-off merger of two billion-dollar Florida credit unions is to first have reasonable assurances that the unique needs and priorities of both organizations are fully aligned before announcing the consolidation publicly.
The $1.3 billion Launch Credit Union in Merritt Island and the $1.3 billion Community Credit Union of Florida in Rockledge said last month that they mutually decided to scrub their proposed merger. When credit unions, particularly large-asset credit unions, announce a planned consolidation agreement, they are rarely terminated.
In 2021, consolidation discussions ended between the $261 Midcoast Federal Credit Union in Freeport, Maine and the $678 million Maine State Credit Union in Augusta. In 2019, the $1 billon Vibrant Credit Union in Moline, Ill., and the $336 million Infinity Federal Credit Union in Westbrook, Maine canceled their proposed merger. In 2022, Infinity CU merged with Deere Employees Credit Union, which became the $1.9 billion Empeople Credit Union based in Moline, Ill.
Launch and Community Credit Union initially announced last August that they had come to a “pre-agreement,” meaning they were still working through due diligence, negotiations, and charter and bylaw reviews.
What’s more, the specifics of the merger structure, including which credit union will merge into the other, were still under discussion.
"The primary focus is ensuring the combined credit union will best serve its members and communities," a spokesperson said at the time. "We will share more details as the process continues."
In a Dec. 19 joint release that announced the termination of the consolidation, Launch President/CEO Joe Mirachi and Community Credit Union Laurie Cappelli said, “The reasons why are varied, and the decision to step back from the merger was not driven from financial reasons. Rather, it reflects a mutual recognition that our organizations, while both strong and well-positioned, have unique needs and priorities that didn’t fully align at this time.”
The statement continued, “From the onset of our merger announcement, we committed to transparency and maintaining open lines of communication with our employees and members. The merger process itself is a long journey with many measures along the way to ensure a strong partnership is compatible for our respective credit unions, our members and employees, and the communities we serve.”
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