Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida in Stuart has agreed to buy Villages Bancorp. in The Villages, Fla.
The $15.7 billion-asset Seacoast said in a press release that it will pay $710.8 million in cash and stock for the $4.1 billion-asset Villages. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, priced Villages at 161% of its tangible book value.
Villages has 19 branches, $3.5 billion of deposits and $1.3 billion of loans.
Villages “serves a thriving and rapidly growing customer base characterized by strong financial stability and consistent demand for tailored financial products,” Charles Shaffer, Seacoast’s chairman and CEO, said in the release.
“This is a rare partnership opportunity to continue the legacy of high-quality service to the Villages community with a shared vision for the many years of growth that [lie] ahead,” Shaffer added. “We are excited to complement VBI’s strengths with Seacoast’s innovative products and breadth of offerings in this unique market.”
The deal is expected to be 22% accretive to Seacoast’s 2026 earnings per share. It should take less than three years to earn back any dilution to tangible book value.
Seacoast expects to incur $52 million of merger-related expenses; it plans to cut 27% of Village’s annual noninterest expenses. Seacoast also plans to sell $2.5 billion of Village’s underperforming, available-for-sale securities, with a plan of reinvesting the proceeds in higher-yielding assets.
Piper Sandler and Alston & Bird advised Seacoast, while Raymond James provided a fairness opinion. Hovde Group and Smith Mackinnon advised Villages.