An Iowa bank holding company will acquire Central Bancshares Inc. of Golden Valley with plans to merge the two banks' operations, the companies said Friday.

MidWestOne Financial Group, based in Iowa City, will pay $64 million cash and 2.7 million shares of its stock, valued at $74.3 million at Friday's close, to acquire the privately held parent of Central Bank.

Central Bank, founded in 1988, has 20 branches throughout the Twin Cities metro, western Wisconsin and two branch locations in Florida. MidWestOne Bank operates 25 locations throughout Iowa.

Kurt Weise, Central's president, said the combined bank will offer its Minnesota customers improved lending power while the Iowa group gains access to the high growth opportunities of the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

"This is a major acquisition for them, and it is obviously a major deal for us," Weise said. "And there's no massive branch closures or mass layoffs."

The deal requires regulatory and shareholder approval, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

The combined bank's management team will meld the leadership from both companies, and will be based in Iowa City. Charles Funk of MidWestOne will continue as president and CEO while John Morrison, Central's current owner and chairman, will become the chairman of the board and the largest shareholder in the combined company.

The combined bank will have $3 billion in assets, including $1.2 billion from Central Bank and $1.8 billion from MidWestOne.

MidWestOne Financial Group's stock closed Friday at $27.30, up $1.75, or nearly 7 percent, on the day.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767