Home BancShares gets federal approval for Texas acquisition
by February 25, 2022 8:01 am 582 views
The parent company of Centennial Bank is ready to move forward with a merger announced last year.
Conway-based Home BancShares has received federal approval for its acquisition of Texas-based Happy Bancshares Inc., parent of $6.2 billion-asset Happy State Bank.
Home BancShares announced the $918 million deal in September, marking its entrance into the Texas market. The Arkansas State Bank board gave its approval on Dec. 16. Shareholders of both companies also approved the deal.
According to a news release Friday (Feb. 25), the acquisition should close in April. The pro forma bank will be approximately $23.3 billion in assets, $13.4 billion in loans and $18.7 billion in deposits. It will be one of the 75 largest banks headquartered in the U.S.
“We are very happy to have received our final piece in the approval process to acquire Happy Bancshares,” Home BancShares chairman and CEO Johnny Allison said in a statement. “Our teams on both sides have been actively making plans and are anxious to officially kick off the merger process.”
When the deal closes, under the terms of the agreement, Happy Bancshares shareholders will receive 2.17 shares of Home BancShares stock for each share of Happy Bancshares they own. They will be entitled to begin receiving quarterly dividends declared by Home BancShares.
Home BancShares stock (NYSE: HOMB) closed Tuesday at $22.57. In the past 52 weeks, Home BancShares stock has traded between $20.69 and $29.76.