Peoples Bancorp To Buy Capital Bancorp For $728M

Peoples Bancorp has agreed to acquire Maryland-based Capital Bancorp in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $728.1 million, in a deal that will expand the Ohio lender’s presence in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets.

The combination is expected to create a bank with approximately $14 billion in assets, $10 billion in loans and $11 billion in deposits, with more than 150 banking locations across eight states and Washington, D.C. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.The deal enables Peoples to access the nationwide reach of Capital’s specialty businesses, such as OpenSky consumer credit cards, SBA and USDA lending and renewable energy lending.

Peoples CEO Tyler Wilcox said the bank had been “deliberate and patient” in pursuing a transaction that “strengthens our franchise well beyond scale alone”, as it approached $10 billion in assets.

Capital shareholders will receive 1.11 shares of Peoples common stock for each Capital share, with former Capital shareholders expected to own about 32% of the combined company. Three Capital directors are expected to join the Peoples board following completion.

The acquisition will take Peoples, which had $9.5 billion in assets as of June 30, above the $10 billion threshold that brings increased regulatory scrutiny. Peoples had previously structured its planned acquisition of Citizens Bank of Kentucky to remain below that level by selling $300 million of securities.