Deal, or no deal?

A deal to sell The Royal Palm Bank in Naples to Ovation Holdings apparently fell apart when regulators shut the bank July 20.

As the Business Review reported in May, Naples-based Ovation agreed to buy Royal Palm, and the deal was scheduled to close in the third quarter. Ovation is the parent of Encore National Bank, which has two branches in Naples.

But state regulators shut down Royal Palm Bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was appointed as the receiver, sold the deposits and most of the assets to cross-town Naples rival First National Bank of the Gulf Coast.

“The FDIC started marketing the bank, we put in a bid and we were successful,” says Gary Tice, chairman and CEO of First National.

Executives with Ovation couldn't be reached for comment, but it's likely that the financial condition of Royal Palm Bank deteriorated so substantially since May that regulators had no choice but to shut it down.

Still, this is the first time on the Gulf Coast that regulators have acted to scuttle a deal if indeed there still was one.