A total of 26 prospective transaction partners of Platinum Bank Holding Co., which had been considering a potential merger transaction as a means to enhance or improve shareholder value, were contacted in early 2016. Expressions of interest and nondisclosure agreements were received from 13 institutions.

In May, Platinum received nonbinding offers from six of the interested institutions, ranging from $51.44 per diluted common share to $81.48 per diluted common share.

The party that made the highest offer presented Platinum with a proposed merger agreement July 20, but ultimately they were unable to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

On Aug. 29, CenterState Banks Inc., one of the six interested institutions, was invited to submit a better offer.

The deal process continued, and CenterState and Platinum eventually agreed to merge, under which each outstanding Platinum common share may be exchanged for $7.60 in cash and 3.7832 CenterState Banks common shares. All "in the money" outstanding stock options will be cashed out, which is expected to total additional cash payments of roughly $791,000. Based on CenterState's Oct. 17 closing price of $17.77, the estimated deal value is $74.83 per share, or $83.9 million in aggregate.