Brookfield Bancshares in Illinois is acquiring Waukegan, Ill.-based NSTS Bancorp and subsidiary North Shore Trust and Savings for $73.7 million. .The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. After the acquisition is finalized, North Shore Trust and Savings and Brookfield Bancshares’ other subsidiary, First National Bank of Brookfield, will have more than $600 million in assets along with four branches in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. As of the end of last year, North Shore Trust and Savings had $266.6 million and four branches in Waukegan and Lindenhurst, Ill. First National Bank of Brookfield had $410 million in assets, $365 million in net loans and leases and $323 million in deposits. North Shore is expected to continue under its existing name and federal savings association charter. President and CEO Stephen Lear will remain on the North Shore board of directors after the acquisition, with another person from its current board or the communities the bank serves joining. Washington, D.C.-based Olsen Palmer LLC was financial advisor to North Shore Trust & Savings, while Vedder Price P.C., Chicago, was legal counsel. Chicago-based Angkor Strategic Advisors was financial adviser to Brookfield, while Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP, Chicago, was legal advisor.
