Wisconsin-based Nicolet Bankshares, the parent of Nicolet National Bank, has received regulatory approvals for its merger with local lender Baylake, the parent of Baylake Bank.
The deal has received the go-ahead from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The two parties agreed to the merger in September 2015 in a deal worth about $141m.
Under the terms of the transaction, Baylake will merge with and into Nicolet Bankshares, while Baylake Bank will merge with and into Nicolet National Bank.
The combined entity will operate under the Nicolet National Bank brand name and will be based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It would operate with 41 branches in Northeast and Northcentral Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan.
While announcing the merger, Nicolet Bankshares said that the merged company would manage assets of $2.2bn, deposits of $1.8bn and loans of $1.6bn.
Nicolet Bankshares chairman and CEO Bob Atwell said: "Having the key regulatory approvals allows us to move to the next step. Both Nicolet and Baylake have set February 29, 2016 as the record date for the special shareholder meetings, both targeted to be held on April 12."
