Home Bancshares Signs Letter Of Intent To Acquire Tenth Florida Bank

Home Bancshares, parent company of Centennial Bank, said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Florida Traditions Bank for $43 million.  It is the tenth bank Home Bancshares has acquired since 2005 with operations in Florida.

The two banks have entered into a non-binding letter of intent for the Home Bancshares to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Florida Traditions, which will be merged into Centennial.

Traditions’ shareholders will receive approximately $43 million of Home Bancshares’ common stock.

Although the parties have entered into a letter of intent, there is no guarantee the parties will enter into a definitive agreement, the bank disclosed.

Florida Traditions currently operates eight banking locations in central Florida, including its main office in Dade City, Florida.

As of March 31, 2014, Traditions had approximately $312 million in total assets, $249 million in loans, and $279 million in deposits.

“We continue to execute on our very successful acquisition strategy in Florida and are happy to report another pending strategic in-market acquisition,” said John Allison, Chairman. “We look forward to continuing to serve the needs of these communities.”

The acquisition is expected to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2014 and is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.