FB Financial in Nashville, Tenn., has agreed to buy Southern States Bancshares in Anniston, Ala.
The $13 billion-asset FB Financial said in a press release that it will pay $381 million in stock for the $2.8 billion-asset Southern States. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Southern States at 157% of its tangible book value.
Southern States has 15 branches, $2.2 billion of loans and $2.4 billion of deposits. The deal was nicknamed “Project Yellow Hammer.”
“Southern States is an established community bank with a leading presence in the markets they serve,” Christopher Holmes, FB Financial’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We are well-aligned culturally and look forward to continuing Southern States’ legacy of dedication and service to their customers.”
Mark Chambers, Southern States’ president and CEO, and Lynn Joyce, the company’s chief financial officer, plan “to fill meaningful roles” at FB Financial, the release said. One Southern States director will join FB Financial’s board.
The deal is expected to be 12% accretive to FB Financial’s 2026 earnings per share. It should take less than two years to earn back an estimated 4% dilution to FB Financial’s tangible book value.
FB Financial plans to cut about a quarter of Southern State’s annual noninterest expense. It expects to incur $38 million in merger-related expenses. Southern States will lost about $1 million of annual interchange fee income due to the Durbin Amendment.
Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods and Alston & Bird advised FB Financial. Performance Trust Capital Partners and Jones Walker advised Southern States.