Mercantile Bancorporation Inc. plans to expand its presence in Southeast Missouri through a merger with AmeriFirst Bancorporation, headquartered in Sikeston.

"This merger will give us a major presence in Sikeston," said Thomas H. Jacobsen, Mercantile's chairman and chief executive officer.

"AmeriFirst is a successful banking organization with a strong tradition in Sikeston dating back more than 100 years."

AmeriFirst Bancorporation, a privately-held company with assets of $164 million, is the holding company for AmeriFirst Bank, the market leader in Sikeston, where it operates two offices. Amerifirst also has a branch office in Cape Girardeau.

"We're pleased to see this (merger) happen," said Ollie J. Miller, president of Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau. "It will be good for us and the community. We're looking forward to joining forces with AmeriFirst."

AmeriFirst's strong history and tradition combined with Mercantile's extensive product and service offerings would better serve the financial needs of customers and the community as a whole, said Robert S. Matthews, chairman of AmeriFirst.

Mercantile currently operates Mercantile Bank of Sikeston, with assets of $39 million, and Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, with assets of $171 million.

Mercantile and AmeriFirst would combine their operations in each of the communities, with the banks being called Mercantile.

"Decisions on operations will be discussed later," said Miller. "The agreement was reached only this week, and we have plenty of time to make these decisions."

The merger is subject to the approval of AmeriFirst shareholders and all appropriate regulatory authorities.

According to terms of the merger agreement, Mercantile Bancorporation would issue 661,385 shares of common stock in exchange for the outstanding stock of AmeriFirst Bancorporation.

Mercantile also announced that it may purchase up to 65,000 shares of its own common stock in open-market transactions.

AmeriFirst Bank opened its Cape Girardeau branch in May 1990, following approval for a bank charter by the Missouri Division of Finance.

The local branch opened in a temporary location at the intersection of Kingshighway and Independence. It started with a capitalization of $4 million, with Lehman Finch of Cape Girardeau as chairman of the board and Paul Ebaugh as president.

The Cape Girardeau branch moved to its present location at 3060 Route K the following year, a 12,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

Mercantile Bancorporation Inc. owns 42 financial institutions in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa and had assets of $12.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 1994.

Mercantile completed mergers in January with the $196 million-asset Wedge Bank in Alton, Ill. and Lebanon, Mo. UNSL Financial Corp., the $508 million-asset holding company for United Savings Bank.

Mercantile has additional mergers pending with institutions in Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa.

AT A GLANCE

Mercantile operates Mercantile Bank of Sikeston, with assets of $39 million, and Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, with assets of $171 million.

Mercantile and AmeriFirst would combine their operations in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston.

Mercantile would issue 661,385 shares of common stock in exchange for the outstanding stock of AmeriFirst.

Mercantile may purchase up to 65,000 shares of its own common stock in open-market transactions.

The merger is subject to approval of AmeriFirst shareholders and all appropriate regulatory authorities.