Our Website Uses Cookies 


We and the third parties that provide content, functionality, or business services on our website may use cookies to collect information about your browsing activities in order to provide you with more relevant content and promotional materials, on and off the website, and help us understand your interests and improve the website.


For more information, please contact us or consult our Privacy Notice.

Your binder contains too many pages, the maximum is 40.

We are unable to add this page to your binder, please try again later.

This page has been added to your binder.

  1. Home
  2. Professionals
  3. Frank M. (Rusty) Conner III
  1. Back
Frank M. (Rusty) Conner
Frank M. (Rusty) Conner III
Partner
Washington +1 202 662 5986 fconner@cov.com Download V-card
View Less

Rusty Conner has for more than 30 years advised senior management and boards of directors in devising creative solutions for achieving their strategic goals and addressing their significant challenges.

Mr. Conner’s practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, and related strategic matters. He has particular expertise in the financial services sector having worked on more than 400 mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions with aggregate deal value in excess of $150 billion, including some of the largest and most complex transactions since the advent of consolidation in the banking industry in the 1980s.

Recent M&A Transactions

  • WSFS Financial Corporation’s $92 million acquisition of Alliance Bancorp, Inc. of Pennsylvania and $64 million acquisition of First Wyoming Financial Corporation.
  • Simmons First National Corporation’s $243 million acquisition of Community First Bancshares, Inc.; $206 million acquisition of Liberty Bancshares, Inc.; and $66 million acquisition of Delta Trust & Bank Corporation.
  • BancTrust Financial Group, Inc.’s $100 million sale to Trustmark Corporation.
  • Sterling Bancshares, Inc.’s $1.03 billion sale to Comerica, Inc.
  • Centra Financial Holdings, Inc.’s $200 million sale to United Bankshares, Inc.
  • T. Rowe Price’s sale of T. Rowe Price Banking Bank.
  • First Union Corporation’s (prior to its merger with Wachovia Corporation) $16.63 billion acquisition of CoreStates Financial Corp. and $5.725 billion acquisition of First Fidelity Bancorporation.
  • C&S/Sovran Corporation’s acquisition of over 40 publicly traded depository institutions; merger of Citizens and Southern Georgia Corporation with The Citizens and Southern Corporation to create The Citizens and Southern Corporation; $4 billion merger with Sovran to create C&S/Sovran; and $4.5 billion sale to NCNB Corporation to create NationsBank Corporation.
  • Regions Financial Corporation’s acquisition of approximately 50 publicly traded depository institutions; $800 million acquisition of Morgan Keegan, Inc.; and $6 billion merger with Union Planters Corporation.
  • Centura Banks, Inc.’s acquisition of 10 mutual thrift institutions.
  • Union Planters Corporation’s acquisition of over 30 publicly traded depository institutions.
  • IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.’s acquisition of SGV Bancorp (de-REITing of IndyMac and creation of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. as an S&L holding company); $300 million acquisition of Financial Freedom; and $100 million acquisition of New York Mortgage Trust.
  • Bank South Corporation’s $1.8 billion sale to NationsBank Corporation.
  • Dominion Bankshares Corporation’s $2 billion sale to First Union Corporation.
  • United Bankshares Corporation’s $1 billion sale to BB&T Corporation.
  • Anchor Savings Bank, F.S.B.’s sale of Southeastern Franchise to several acquirers.

Recent Capital Markets Transactions

  • National Commerce Corporation’s $38.1 million initial public offering of Common Stock.
  • Avenue Financial Holdings, Inc.’s $31.6 million initial public offering of Common Stock and $20 million private placement of Subordinated Debt.
  • TriState Capital Holdings, Inc.’s $35 million private placement of Subordinated Debt and $75.3 million initial public offering of Common Stock.
  • Bankwell Financial Group’s $48.6 million initial public offering of Common Stock.
  • Fidelity Southern Corporation’s $69 million offering of Common Stock.
  • HomeBancorp, Inc.’s $20 million private placement of Senior Debt and Preferred Stock.
  • 1st United Bancorp’s $80.5 million offering and $32.5 million initial public offering of Common Stock.
  • BancorpSouth, Inc.’s $115 million offering of Common Stock.
  • Citizens South Banking Corporation’s $15 million offering of Common Stock and Mandatorily Convertible Preferred Stock.
  • IBERIABANK Corporation’s multiple offerings of Common Stock with an aggregate value of $632.7 million.
  • IndyMac Bancorp, Inc.’s $500 million offering of Fixed Rate Perpetual Preferred Stock and $106 million offering of Common Stock.
  • Regions Financial Corporation’s multiple offerings of debt securities with an aggregate value of $4.25 billion.
  • First Citizens Bancshares, Inc.’s $75 million offering of Fixed Rate Trust Preferred Securities and $50 million offering of Fixed Rate Subordinated Debt.
  • Park Sterling Bank’s $115 million offering of Common Stock.
  • Sterling Bancshares, Inc.’s $92 million offering of Common Stock.
  • Union Planters Corporation’s multiple offerings of debt securities with an aggregate value of $1.1 billion.
  • WSFS Financial Corporation’s $50 million offering of Common Stock and $55 million offering of Fixed Rate Senior Debt.
View More View Less

Memberships and Affiliations

  • University of Virginia, Vice Rector and Board of Visitors Member
  • National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Counsel
  • Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, former Chair of the Board
  • Ford’s Theatre, former Trustee
  • Virginia College Savings Plan, former Chair of the Board
  • Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, former Trustee
  • Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, former Board Member
  • DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, former Board Member
View Less
  • Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
  • The Best Lawyers in America
  • Legal 500 US 
  • Washington DC Super Lawyers

Practices

Industries

Education

University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1981

University of Virginia, B.A., 1978

  • Economics
  • with high distinction
  • Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia