Dogwood State Bank in Raleigh, N.C., has agreed to buy Community First Bancorp. in Seneca, S.C.
The $1.4 billion-asset Dogwood said in a press release that it will pay stock for the $685 million-asset Community First. The price wasn’t disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Dogwood recently raised $16.4 million in capital.
The acquisition “unlocks long-term growth potential for shareholders and access to significant scale in the Upstate of South Carolina,” Steve Jones, Dogwood’s president and CEO, said in the release. “With this transaction, we will have a meaningful presence in the largest major growth markets in the Carolinas.”
Dogwood said the deal should be 65% accretive to its 2025 earnings per share. It should take about a year for Dogwood to earn back any dilution to its tangible book value.
Two Community First directors will join Dogwood’s board.
Piper Sandler and Williams Mullen advised Dogwood. D.A. Davidson and Brooks Pierce advised Community First.