Ameris Bancorp, the parent of Ameris Bank, has agreed to acquire Jacksonville Bancorp, the parent of The Jacksonville Bank, Jacksonville, Florida in a $96.6m deal.

As per the terms of the agreed merger deal, shareholders of Jacksonville Bancorp will get either 0.5861 shares of Ameris common stock or $16.50 in cash for each share of Jacksonville Bancorp common stock or nonvoting common stock, subject to the total consideration being 75% stock and 25% cash.

The combined entity is expected to manage about $5.7bn in assets, $4bn in loans, $4.9bn in deposits, and operate with 101 banking locations across four states.

Following the acquisition, Ameris will become the largest community bank by deposit market share in the Jacksonville, Florida market, Ameris stated in a release.

The transaction, already approved by the board of directors of both the companies, is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2016.

The deal is now subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and approval by shareholders of Jacksonville Bancorp.

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Ameris president and CEO Edwin Hortman, Jr. said: "We are pleased to announce our merger with Jacksonville Bancorp, as it will accelerate our growth momentum in the greater Jacksonville, Florida market.

"We believe that this transaction will allow us to better serve our combined customer base, provide greater access to the variety of banking services we offer and help us build a stronger presence to positively impact our community."