First IC in Ga. received three offers before negotiation with MetroCity

First IC Corp. in Doraville, Ga., considered offers from two other bidders before agreeing to sell itself to MetroCity Bankshares in Doraville.

The $2.9 billion-asset MetroCity Bankshares announced in March that it would buy the $1.2 billion-asset First IC for $206 million in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The process began when First IC received three proposals late last year, including one from MetroCity. The unnamed banks submitted offers that valued First IC between $199.1 million and $213.5 million, while MetroCity’s pitch was priced at $225.9 million. All three suitors were publicly traded bank holding companies.

First IC’s board asked each party to submit revised letters of intent by Jan. 7.

MetroCity’s offer, valued at $217.1 million, still topped the other bids, which ranged from $165.9 million to $198.3 million.

MetroCity and one other bank were invited to conduct due diligence and submit final proposals, but MetroCity responded that it would only continue if granted exclusivity. On Jan. 16, MetroCity raised its offer by adding $900,000 in cash and increasing its transaction allowance expense by $1 million.

The other bank declined to revise its offer.

Each board approved the merger agreement on March 16. The deal, announced the next day, priced First IC at 146% of its tangible book value.

The acquisition should be 26% accretive to MetroCity’s 2026 earnings per share in the first full year of operations, including cost savings. It should take a little more than two years for MetroCity to earn back a projected 11% dilution to its tangible book value.

MetroCity expects to incur $14.9 million in merger-related expenses. It plans to cut 37% of First IC’s annual noninterest expenses.

“We too … long competed with and admired the First IC franchise and are excited about combining our two organizations,” Nack Paek, MetroCity’s chairman and CEO, said in a press release announcing the deal.

“The combined bank will have the capacity to service our customers better, offer enhanced opportunities for our employees and continue offering excellent returns to our shareholders,” Paek added. “The combined balance sheet enhances our competitive position and increases the financial flexibility to continue to build the best bank possible.”