 DECEMBER 24 • 2020 | 31

T

CF Bank announced 
Dec. 13 that it had been 
acquired by Columbus, 
Ohio-based Huntington Bank 
and that the combined entity 
would have “dual headquarters” 
in Detroit and 
Columbus, mark-
ing a big moment 
in the career of 
TCF Bank chair 
and prominent 
Jewish Detroit 
philanthropist Gary 
Torgow.
Under the agreement, TCF 
will merge into Huntington, 

and the combined holding 
company and bank will operate 
under the Huntington name 
and brand following the closing 
of the transaction. 
Upon closing, Stephen D. 
Steinour will remain the chair-
man, president and CEO of the 
holding company and CEO and 
president of the bank. Torgow 
will serve as chairman of the 
bank’s board of directors. 
“This partnership will pro-
vide us the opportunity for 
deeper investments in our com-
munities, more jobs in Detroit, 
an increased commitment 

in Minneapolis and a better 
experience for our customers,
” 
Torgow said in the release. 
“We will be a top regional 
bank, with the scale to compete 
and the passion to serve.
” 
Torgow also serves on the 
board of the Jewish Federation 
of Metropolitan Detroit, as 
senior vice president of the 
Orthodox Union, and as board 
president of Yeshiva Beth 
Yehudah.
The headquarters for the 
commercial bank will be in 
Detroit where “at least 800 
employees of the combined 
company, nearly three times 
the number TCF had planned, 
will be housed in the downtown 
structure,
” the press release 
said. Columbus will remain the 
headquarters for the holding 
company and the consumer 
bank. 
The merger means the TCF 
Center in downtown Detroit 

will be renamed the Huntington 
Center, just one year after a deal 
was made to remove the Cobo 
name from the conference 
center.
This is the second merger 
for TCF in as many years after 
a $3.6 billion merger with 
Chemical Financial Corp.
The combined company will 
have approximately $168 billion 
in assets, $117 billion in loans 
and $134 billion in deposits. 
The combined organization 
is believed to significantly 
improve Huntington’s market 
position, increase scale and 
provide greater revenue growth 
opportunities. 
The merger, which is expect-
ed to close in the second quar-
ter of 2021, is believed to create 
a top 10 U.S. regional bank, 
with a total market value of 
approximately $22 billion.
TCF Bank and Torgow 
declined to comment. 

Israeli and Michigan cannabis fi
 rms 
team up, plan medical-use strain.

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

‘Growth’ Industry

I

sraeli-based medical and 
adult-use cannabis company 
Tikun Olam and Michigan-
based cannabis cultivator and 
distributor Pincanna have 
finalized an agreement to bring 
Tikun’s cannabis products to 
Michigan in Spring 2021.
Through the deal, Pincanna 
will grow and distribute Tikun’s 

cannabis products, which will 
join a lineup of around 10 dif-
ferent cannabis brands the com-
pany grows and/or distributes. 
Pincanna is working with Tikun 
Olam USA, a U.S.-based joint 
venture of the company estab-
lished in 2015.
Robert Nusbaum, founding 
partner of Pincanna, believes 

Tikun Olam 
choosing them 
to produce 
their strain is 
a big deal in 
the burgeoning 
Michigan can-
nabis industry, 
and says Tikun Olam initially 
reached out to them.
Pincanna is based in 
Farmington Hills, but also 
operates a 135,000-square-
foot cultivation and manu-
facturing facility across 185 
acres in Pinconning, just 
north of Bay City. The com-
pany also operates its own 
retail store in Kalkaska, near 
Traverse City, and plans to 
open numerous Pincanna 
market retail stores through-
out the state.
Tikun Olam’s products have 
been used since 2010 in ongo-
ing clinical trials in Israel’s 
regulated medical cannabis 
market, treating patients for a 

variety of symp-
toms of medical 
conditions such 
as cancer, PTSD, 
epilepsy and 
chronic pain. In 
addition to its 
U.S. operation, 
Tikun operates similar part-
nerships in Canada, Greece 
and Australia. 
Bernie Sucher, CEO of 
Tikun Olam USA, grew up 
in Southfield, did business in 
Russia for years and currently 
resides in Miami.
The partnership is anoth-
er notable addition to the 
Michigan cannabis industry’s 
Jewish ties, joining Weinberg 
Family Enterprises and the 
affiliated PRIMITIV, Evergreen 
Logistics and TheGreenhouse 
of Walled Lake, among others.
Nusbaum believes Tikun 
Olam will become the primary 
strain for Pincanna’s medical 
sales. 

INSTAGRAM/@PINCANNA

Rob 
Nusbaum

EUROAMERICA DESIGN 

Bernie 
Sucher

TIKUN OLAM

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

 
Huntington Bank, 
Torgow’s TCF Bank 
Announce Merger 

Gary Torgow

