Fitzgerald, Georgia-based Colony Bankcorp is set to buy Florence, South Carolina-based First Reliance Bancshares in a $163 million stock-and-cash transaction, creating a $5 billion-asset institution.
The parent companies of Colony Bank and First Reliance Bank announced the deal late Wednesday. It’s expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The deal will bring Colony, which currently operates in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, into South Carolina. South Carolina branches, however, will continue to operate under the First Reliance moniker.
“By uniting our teams, we are creating a premier Southeast banking franchise that is uniquely positioned to capture market share in some of the most dynamic economies in the country,” said Colony CEO Heath Fountain in a prepared statement.
The Southeast is one of the nation’s fastest growing regions, with banks big and small vying for market share there.
“Our customers will enjoy access to broader banking capabilities and enhanced technology, while our employees will benefit from being part of a larger, dynamic organization with expanded career opportunities,” First Reliance founder and CEO Rick Saunders said of the merger.
According to the merger agreement, each First Reliance shareholder will receive either $19.75 in cash or 0.94 of a share of Colony’s common stock in exchange for each share of First Reliance common stock.
Colony has made a handful of acquisitions in the last decade. The bank bought the Albany, Georgia branch of Planters First Bank in 2018, and it purchased Planters First’s secondary mortgage market business in 2019. Colony purchased LaGrange, Georgia-based Calumet Bank that same year, and Atlanta-based SouthCrest Bank in 2021.
An investor presentation notes the deal would make Colony the largest sub-$10 billion bank headquartered in Georgia or South Carolina.
Saunders will join Colony as executive vice chairman, board member and executive team member. Justin Strickland, currently president of First Reliance, will become Colony’s South Carolina president, and Robert Haile, First Reliance’s finance chief, will become Colony’s chief investment officer and treasurer.
Brook Moore, First Reliance’s chief credit officer, will become Colony’s South Carolina credit officer, and Chuck Stuart, president of the First Reliance mortgage division, will join as co-president of Colony Mortgage.
First Reliance director Rick Redden will join the Colony board of directors, and First Reliance Chairman Dale Lusk will enter an advisory role with board observation rights.
