North Carolina-based First Bancorp, the parent of First Bank, has agreed to acquire Carolina Bank Holdings, the parent of Carolina Bank, in a deal worth about $97.3m.
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The cash-stock transaction has already secured the nod of the boards of directors of both companies. It is slated to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016 or first quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approvals.
As per the agreed terms of the merger deal, shareholders of Carolina Bank Holdings will receive either 1.002 shares of First Bancorp’s common stock or $20.00 in cash for each share of Carolina Bank Holdings common stock. The deal consideration will include 75% stock and 25% cash.
The combined entity will manage about $4.1bn in assets, $3bn in loans and $3.4bn in deposits.
First Bancorp CEO Richard Moore said: "Carolina Bank is an outstanding addition to our company as we continue our expansion into higher growth markets.
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By GlobalData"We are excited to welcome Carolina Bank’s customers, employees, and communities into the First Bancorp family, and look forward to continuing to develop upon the strong foundation Carolina Bank has built in the Piedmont Triad."
As of 31 March 2016, Carolina Bank Holdings managed assets of $706m, gross loans of $491m and deposits of $601m. Carolina Bank has eight banking locations in the Greensboro-High Point, Burlington and Winston-Salem, NC MSAs, as well as three mortgage loan offices.
