Second Bank Deal Hits the Scorecard

NSTS Bancorp just got taken out. Brookfield Bancshares is paying $73.7 million all-cash, $14.28 per share, closes Q4 2026.

This is the second banking deal on coverage. LNKB to Burke & Herbert closed May 1 at $354.2 million all-stock, $11.0 billion pro forma assets across six states. Now NSTS to Brookfield at $73.7 million all-cash. Two bank takeouts in 11 trading days.

NSTS is the cleanest version of the thesis. Three-branch community thrift in Waukegan, Illinois. Demutualized January 2022, Tier 1 capital ratio 23.11 percent, sitting on excess capital, never scaled. Gets absorbed by a slightly larger local operator in the same MSA. All-cash, no antitrust risk, clean six month close.

The mechanic is repeatable. Overcapitalized demutualization thrifts that cannot organically scale get rolled up by neighbors at premium cash takeouts. This template works across the entire small thrift universe.

The 2026 Takeout Scorecard, 12 Deals, $42.0B

CNTA to Lilly, $7.8 billion. OX2R agonist platform for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia.

OGN to Sun Pharma, $6.8 billion. Women's health and biosimilars commercial portfolio, India-based acquirer.

TERN to Merck, $6.7 billion. Oral allosteric BCR::ABL1 TKI for CML.

APLS to Biogen, $5.6 billion upfront plus CVR. Complement platform with SYFOVRE in geographic atrophy and EMPAVELI in PNH and C3G. 140 percent premium.

CPRX to Angelini Pharma, $4.1 billion. Rare disease commercial portfolio.

SLNO to Neurocrine, $2.9 billion. VYKAT XR for Prader-Willi syndrome.

DAWN to Servier, $2.5 billion. Pediatric low grade glioma with Ojemda, French acquirer.

RAPT to GSK, $2.2 billion. Anti-IgE mAb ozureprubart for food allergy.

KALV to Chiesi, $1.9 billion. EKTERLY sebetralstat, first oral on-demand HAE therapy, Italian acquirer.

ESPR to ARCHIMED, $1.1 billion. NEXLETOL cardiovascular franchise.

LNKB to Burke & Herbert, $354.2 million. All-stock, closed May 1.

NSTS to Brookfield Bancshares, $73.7 million. All-cash, announced today.

Every one of these names was on the radar before the deal hit. The mechanic for finding the next one is the same.