Hattiesburg, Miss.-based First Bancshares Inc., the holding company for First Bank, agreed to acquire Fort Walton Beach, Fla.-based Beach Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Beach Bank.
Under the merger agreement, Beach Bancorp shareholders are expected to receive 0.1711 of a First Bancshares common share for each Beach Bancorp common share. The exchange ratio for the deal is fixed.
The transaction, including the exchange of Beach Bancorp options, is valued at about $116.7 million, or $5.63 per share, based on the closing price of First Bancshares' common stock of $32.92 as of April 25.
The deal is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter.
Upon the completion of the acquisition, Beach Bank will merge with and into First Bank. Beach Bank operates seven branches across the Florida Panhandle and Tampa markets with deposits of about $492 million and loans of $456 million as of March 31.
The proposed transaction will provide First Bank an entry into the Tampa, Fla., market and will deepen the bank's presence in the Florida Panhandle, according to a news release.
Beach Bank CEO Charles Reeves will join the executive leadership team of First Bancshares, with responsibilities for mortgage banking, specialty lending platforms and the Central Florida region, First Bancshares President and CEO M. Ray Cole Jr. said.
Henry Gonzalez, Beach Bank's Tampa market president, will join First Bancshares' team as regional president for Tampa. Chip Falk, senior vice president and senior lender for Beach Bank, will become First Bancshares' senior vice president for specialty lines.
Tampa-based Corey McLaughlin will lead First Bancshares' healthcare practice lending division. Peter Dyson, Beach Bank's senior vice president for northwest Florida, and Pam Woodall, senior vice president for mortgage, will join First Bancshares' team in the Florida Panhandle.
Hovde Group LLC was financial adviser and Alston & Bird LLP acted as legal counsel to First Bancshares. Piper Sandler & Co. was financial adviser and Smith Mackinnon PA was legal counsel to Beach Bancorp.
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