MERRITT ISLAND, Fla.—The proposed merger between $1.39-billion Launch Credit Union here and $1.36-billion Community Credit Union of Florida, based in Rockledge, has been called off, according to a joint release from both organizations.
The credit unions “mutually decided” not to move forward with the deal, according to the release.
In a joint statement, Joe Mirachi, Launch’s president and CEO, along with Laurie Cappelli, president/CEO of Community Credit Union, stated the “reasons why are varied, and the decision to step back from the merger was not driven from financial reasons. Rather, it reflects a mutual recognition that our organizations, while both strong and well-positioned, have unique needs and priorities that didn’t fully align at this time.”
“From the onset of our merger announcement, we committed to transparency and maintaining open lines of communication with our employees and members,” the statement continued. “The merger process itself is a long journey with many measures along the way to ensure a strong partnership is compatible for our respective credit unions, our members and employees, and the communities we serve.”
Community CU made $4.9 million in net income through September of this year, according to Call Report data. Net worth is 11.13%. Launch CU made $3.7 million in net income through September of ’24, and net worth stands at 8.93%.
The scrapped deal is the second CU merger called off within the last week. As CUToday.info reported, the deal between $347-million St. Norbert's CU and $16.6-million Alcose Credit Union was also ended.
Analysis From CEO Advisory Group
Mergers of equal are highly challenging on many levels, said Glenn Christensen, president and CEO of CEO Advisory Group.
"Often social issues end up derailing mergers," said Christensen. "Board positions, allocation of executive positions, name of the credit union, and headquarters location are among the social factors that can impact the decision to proceed with a merger. Kudos to both Launch CU and Community CU to give consideration to a merger of this scale. Increasingly large CUs are showing a member-first perspective and giving consideration to mergers as both acquirer and acquiree."