By Al Barbarino
Law360 (March 13, 2026, 11:53 AM EDT) — Esquire Financial Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy the parent company of Signature Bank in a roughly $348.4 million deal that Esquire said will help expand its Chicago-area commercial banking presence and support growth of its litigation banking platform.
Luse Gorman PC is advising Esquire and Vedder Price PC is representing Signature Bancorporation Inc. on the all-stock deal, under which Signature shareholders will receive 2.63 shares of Esquire common stock for each Signature share, according to a Thursday deal announcement.
The per-share value equates to $260.48 based on Esquire stock’s March 11 closing price or $348.4 million in aggregate value.
Esquire Financial Holdings, the parent of Esquire Bank NA, said the strategic acquisition gives it Signature’s Chicago commercial banking franchise, helping to enhance growth, diversify its business and expand its litigation vertical in Chicago.
“Signature brings longstanding history of commercial and commercial real estate relationship banking in the Chicago market while Esquire is a national leader in the litigation vertical that seeks to expand its presence in the Chicago market as well as nationwide,” according to the announcement.
Esquire operates a national litigation banking platform that provides loans and other financial services to plaintiffs’ law firms, including contingency fee practices. Signature, by contrast, focuses on traditional commercial and commercial real estate lending to businesses in the Chicago area.
The deal would give Esquire a foothold in Chicago, one of the country’s largest legal markets, potentially allowing the bank to extend its litigation banking services to more law firms in the region.
The transaction will reduce Esquire’s litigation vertical loan and funding concentrations from more than 70% to below 50%, “supporting future accelerated growth in Chicago, the Midwest and nationwide,” the bank said.
“Signature’s leadership in the attractive Chicago market, best-in-class management team, and exceptional core funding provide Esquire with a strong platform for continued growth and expansion in the country’s third-largest metropolitan area or MSA and one of the nation’s largest legal markets,” said Andrew C. Sagliocca, CEO and president of Esquire, in a statement.
Mick O’Rourke, CEO and president of Signature, said the deal will give the bank “greater resources and expanded reach to support our clients as they grow.”
The agreement has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval and the approval of Esquire and Signature shareholders.
–Editing by Alyssa Miller.
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