Bremer Bank reportedly for sale, months after settling long dispute with Otto Bremer Trust

Bremer Bank may be seeking a buyer just months after a legal settlement with its primary owner, the Otto Bremer Trust.

Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported that St. Paul-based Bremer Financial has retained financial advisers to find a buyer.

Bremer, one of the largest banks in Minnesota, is unique in that’s it largely owned by a charity, the Otto Bremer Trust. Bremer employees also have an ownership stake.

Bremer Financial did not respond to a request for comment. The Otto Bremer Trust said its trustees would have no comment.

The two settled and reached an agreement in July to end a five-year legal battle over the bank’s future.

Under the settlement, Otto Bremer trustees rejoined Bremer Financial’s board, and the parties said they would work together to “redefine” their relationship.

Their dispute started in 2019 when Bremer Financial began exploring a merger of equals with Great Western Bancshares. Otto Bremer trustees objected, arguing an outright sale would be more profitable.

The bank sued the trustees, accusing them of a “disloyal scheme” to seize control of the company.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office oversees charitable trusts, conducted an investigation and petitioned a state court to remove three trustees, alleging breach of duty.

Ramsey County District Judge Robert Awsumb ruled against nearly all of the allegations, though one trustee, Brian Lipschultz, was removed.

Bremer, which has $16 billion in assets, operates about 70 branches in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

The Otto Bremer Trust gave away $105 million to over 1,000 groups last year. Otto Bremer, a St. Paul businessman who died in 1951, established the trust in the 1940s.