May 5, 2014 –
Gunster attorneys assist in banking, aerospace M&A deals

Gunster, one of Florida’s oldest and largest full-service business law firms, recently handled two significant merger & acquisition deals, as described below:

Gunster banking attorneys assist Harbor Community Bank in acquiring 9 Banco Popular branches in central Florida

On April 22, Harbor Community Bank, based in Indiantown, Florida, entered into an agreement to acquire nine branch offices of Popular Community Bank in and around Orlando in Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties. Popular Community Bank is a subsidiary of Popular Inc., the North American operations for Banco Popular, based in Puerto Rico.

Gunster’s banking and financial services team represented Harbor in negotiating the acquisition.

The branches and approximately $239 million in associated deposits and $115 million in loans will be acquired by Harbor, which has assets of approximately $665 million and 18 branch locations in the state of Florida.

The transaction will raise Harbor’s presence in central Florida and increase its assets to approximately $900 million.

Read related news stories:

• Banco Popular sells Orlando branches to Harbor Community Bank (Orlando Sentinel, 4/23/14)
• First Midwest acquires Popular’s Chicago operations (Chicago Daily Herald, 4/23/14)
• Banc of California acquires Banco Popular SoCal branches (Annenberg TV News, 4/24/14)
• Banco Popular retreats toward its home base (Marketplace, 4/8/14)

Gunster corporate attorneys guide sale of South Florida’s XTRA Aerospace

XTRA Aerospace, an FAA-certified specialized repair station located in Miramar, Florida, was sold on April 9 to Odyssey Investment Partners, an affiliate of Wencor, a private equity group based in California. The purchase price was not publicly disclosed.

Gunster’s corporate law attorneys represented XTRA Aerospace and completed the transaction in less than four weeks – an extremely fast turnaround time for such a large deal.

XTRA Aerospace specializes in the repair of instruments, radio and mechanical/electrical accessories for Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft families.

“We were extremely pleased with Gunster’s ability to begin and close this deal within such a short time frame,” XTRA’s VP of Technical Programs Mario Catalano says. “We sought a large, Florida-based law firm with the resources to help us move quickly on this large, complex and high-value deal – and we got it with Gunster.”

More about Gunster’s law practices

Gunster boasts an international reputation for quality, professionalism and excellence in financial institutions and banking law. The firm’s success stems from the ongoing representation of some of the world’s leading financial institutions on the most interesting and complex challenges. Gunster’s banking and financial services practice is composed of multilingual, culturally diverse attorneys, and is committed to being at the forefront of legal issues affecting the financial industry. For more information, please contact practice leader Greg Bader or any banking and financial services team member.

Gunster’s corporate attorneys are multidisciplined problem solvers who represent clients in transactions in Florida, the U.S. and overseas. Gunster is regularly called upon to serve as both general corporate counsel and special transactions counsel for emerging companies, family and closely held businesses, middle market and public companies, as well as international businesses and entrepreneurs. For more information, please contact practice leader Bill Hyland or any corporate team member.

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