Home BancShares has entered into an agreement to acquire Florida-based Stonegate Bank in a deal worth $749.8m.
The transaction amount will be paid about $50m in cash and approximately $699.8m in Home common stock.
Following the completion of the deal, Stonegate will be merged into Centennial Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Home.
Currently, Stonegate operates 25 branch locations in key Florida markets with a major presence in Broward and Sarasota counties. Its total assets stood at nearly $3.1bn as of 31 December 2016.
Home's chairman John Allison said: "The acquisition of Stonegate is a game-changer for Home in the Florida market. Stonegate is a top tier franchise with high profitability and has the perfect footprint to enhance Home's presence in Florida.”
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
It is subject to Home and Stonegate shareholder approval, regulatory approval, and other conditions in the merger agreement.
Stonegate's chief executive officer Dave Seleski said: "Home and Stonegate are two very high performing franchises with a similar operating philosophy and customer focus. This is a great combination for our shareholders, customers and communities."
While RBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to Home in the transaction, Stonegate was advised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
In April last year, Stonegate Bank signed an agreement to acquire the operations of Regent Bancorp, including its subsidiary, Regent Bank, for $40m. The transaction was the ninth acquisition for Stonegate since 2009.
Image:Stonegate will be merged into Centennial Bank. Photo: courtesy of Chaiwat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.