Centennial Bank parent company acquires Florida bank in $778.4 million deal
by March 27, 2017 3:26 pm 2,396 views
Conway-based Home BancShares is acquiring Stonegate Bank of Florida in a deal valued at $778.4 million. The transaction will boost Home BancShares’ assets to around $13.5 billion.
Officials with Home BancShares – the parent company of Centennial Bank – announced the deal Monday (March 27) at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. The buyout-merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 if all regulatory hurdles are met.
The deal calls for Stonegate to merge into Centennial with Stonegate shareholders receiving $50 million in cash and approximately $699.8 million of Home BancShares (NASDAQ: HOMB) common stock. Also, holders of outstanding Stonegate stock options will receive $28.6 million in cash.
Stonegate, based in the north Miami suburb of Pompano Beach, Fla., has 25 branch locations in Broward and Sarasota counties and other key markets in the Miami area. As of Dec. 31, 2016, Stonegate had $3.1 billion in total assets, $2.5 billion in total loans, and $2.7 billion in deposits.
“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,” John Allison, Home BancShares Chairman, said in a statement. “This is another ‘Triple A’ transaction for Home: accretive to earnings per share, accretive to book value and accretive to tangible book value. Our shareholders will benefit on day one as we will be stronger together. Dave Seleski, Stonegate’s CEO, leads a terrific team of bankers and we all look forward to welcoming them to Home.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson was on hand at the chamber announcement to congratulate the two banks’ leaders. He noted that Stonegate is the only U.S. bank with a presence in Cuba, a fact he hoped could be utilized in his efforts to expand agricultural trade with the communist island nation.
Hutchinson has made a trade trip to Cuba in hopes of selling more rice, poultry and other products from Arkansas. Federal restrictions that currently prohibit credit sales of agricultural products have been restrictive on trade efforts.
“I look forward to exploring that connection,” Hutchinson said of Stonegate’s Cuban presence.
Home Bancshares closed Monday at $26.83, up 18 cents. News of the Stonegate acquisition was released after markets closed. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged from an $18.32 low to a $29.69 high.