Home BancShares to Buy Liberty in $280 Million Deal
by June 26, 2013 8:49 am 81 views
Conway banking company Home BancShares has agreed to buy Jonesboro banking company Liberty Bancshares in a $280 million deal, creating the second-largest financial institution in Arkansas.
The signing of the definitive agreement was announced at a Little Rock news conference Tuesday afternoon, attended by Home BancShares chairman Johnny Allison, Wallace Fowler, chairman and CEO of Liberty Bancshares, and Gov. Mike Beebe.
Home BancShares is the holding company of Centennial Bank. Liberty Bancshares is the holding company of Liberty Bank.
According to a news release, Liberty shareholders will receive $250 million in Home BancShares stock and $30 million in cash.
“The merger of two Arkansas-based companies with comparable cultures and history with only two overlapping markets creates a prestigious banking franchise in Arkansas,” Allison said in a news release. “Wallace and I have been friends for a very long time. The addition of Liberty is truly a game-changer for Home BancShares.”
When the deal closes later this year, the combined company will have approximately $7.1 billion in assets, $5.6 billion in deposits, $4.5 billion in loans, 151 branches and 1,500 employees in Arkansas, Florida and south Alabama.
With more than 260 locations and approximately $13 billion assets, Arvest Bank of Fayetteville is the largest bank in Arkansas.
The acquisition is the largest in-state banking transaction in state history, according to the news release. The acquisition would double the number of Arkansas branches for Centennial Bank from 46 to 92.
Liberty Bank has approximately $2.9 billion in assets.
“This association with my longtime friend John Allison is important for many reasons; first and foremost, Home BancShares is another outstanding Arkansas based company with similar operating philosophies as Liberty,” Fowler said. “We are extremely excited about the combination of these two outstanding financial institutions.”