Dive Brief:
- Omaha, Nebraska-based Pinnacle Bancorp will acquire Southern Bancshares, parent company of Moulton, Texas-based SouthStar Bank, the banks said Thursday.
- The Texas lender has about $1.4 billion in assets and 16 branches and a loan production office across Austin and other cities in the central part of the state, according to a news release.
- Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The transaction is set to close in January 2027.
Dive Insight:
Privately-owned Pinnacle Bancorp has about $20.9 billion in assets and 164 branches across Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. Its most recent expansion state was Arizona, in 2020.
Pinnacle’s 28-branch presence in Texas is more heavily concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and acquiring SouthStar expands its footprint in the central part of the state.
“Under Pinnacle Bancorp, Inc., SouthStar Bank will continue to operate with local management, local decision-making and local control, reflecting both organizations’ shared commitment to community banking,” said Matt Dinsdale, the holding company’s executive vice president, in the release.
In a letter to customers posted on SouthStar’s website Thursday, CEO David Kapavik said the bank will continue to operate under the SouthStar name through 2027. He said he will remain president and CEO and the management team and staff will also stay on.
In linking with Pinnacle, SouthStar – which has about $1.1 billion in deposits and $1 billion in loans – will join “an established family of community banks,” Kapavik said.
“I am honored for our team to be able to join another great family bank with a common culture, background, and community bank philosophy,” Kapavik said in the news release. “SouthStar Bank makes a great fit for the Pinnacle Bank family strategically and geographically to serve customers in the Texas market.”
