What is one person's misery is another's opportunity. Billionaire Wilbur Ross just received permission from regulators to buy a majority stake in Florida's First Bank and Trust Co. Many believe this is a platform to purchase other distressed banks.
The agreement allows Ross, who previously said he was targeting regional lenders, to acquire 68.1 percent of the shares in the Indiantown, Florida-based community bank, subject to regulatory approval, Ross said today in a statement.
The bank has “good opportunities” to expand, Ross said in a Bloomberg Television interview today. “We view the whole financial services sector as a very interesting one.”
Ross has a history of purchasing one company in a distressed industry and using that as a vehicle for aggregrating other distressed companies and assets.
He joins Christopher Flowers in personally purchasing control of a bank. Flowers recently was part of a team that purchased Indymac from the FDIC.
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