Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company acquired the assets of KLC Financial, Inc and KLC Capital Partners, LLC (together KLC) and is continuing KLC’s success as KLC Financial, LLC, a subsidiary of Gulf Coast. Founded in 1987 and located in Minnetonka, MN, KLC provides specialized lease solutions for vendors and commercial businesses nationally to help businesses finance and access mission critical equipment they need to grow their businesses.
Gulf Coast provides a full suite of products serving both business and consumer financial needs. Gulf Coast has over $3 billion in total assets as of June 30.
In a meeting with the board of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company, Chairman Guy Williams said, “We are excited to welcome KLC to the Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company family of companies. KLC will continue their existing leasing programs but will now have additional resources and reach that will enable them to serve even more customers across the United States. The strong KLC management team will remain in place and will continue to manage their operations. There will be no layoffs as a result of this transaction instead KLC will be looking for additional employees to help with their expansion. The integrity and work ethic of the KLC team make them a perfect fit for us at Gulf Coast Bank.”
Marc Keepman, Chairman and founder of KLC, said, “We are pleased to have forged this partnership with Gulf Coast and view it as a natural progression for our team, customers, vendors and our strategies. This new alliance will allow us to preserve the strong culture we have built with our team.”
Spencer Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of KLC, said, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to join forces with one of the most entrepreneurial community banks in America. We have an aggressive growth plan and being part of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company will provide us with the opportunity to grow our business to new levels.” Thomas added, “Our management team has been instrumental in developing our staff and technology stack for serious scale. The partnership with Gulf Coast completes the final piece to capitalize on all the hard work. We are all extremely excited to travel the next leg of this journey together!”
The acquisition was effective as of Aug. 10 with KLC’s business operations remaining intact and poised for great growth.
Piper Sandler & Co. and Rinaldi Advisory Services served as advisors to KLC and Avisen Legal served as legal advisor.
Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company is consistently one of the highest performing community banks in America. The bank offers a diverse suite of loan, deposit, investment and trust services, in all 50 states.