Dive Brief:
- Greenville, South Carolina-based United Community Banks will acquire Gainesville, Georgia-based Peach State Bancshares in a roughly $100.8 million deal set to close in the third quarter, the lenders announced Tuesday.
- The transaction would make the combined bank No. 1 in market share for Hall County, Georgia, roughly 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, and give United two added branches, along with $788 million in new assets, $498 million in loans and $713 million in deposits.
- The deal would be at least the seventh since 2018 for $28.2 billion-asset United. Two recent transactions – for First National Bank of South Miami in 2023 and American National Bank the following year – focused on building out a presence in South Florida.
Dive Insight:
United Community Banks has held a presence in Gainesville since 2005, the year Peach State opened. In that time, Hall County’s population has boomed – jumping nearly 12% since 2020, according to Census Bureau statistics.
“Because we already operate in the Gainesville area, this partnership creates a unique opportunity to learn from one another, combine local knowledge, and deepen our impact,” United CEO Lynn Harton said in a statement. “Together, we will build even stronger, service-minded teams focused on improving our communities – one customer at a time.”
Harton added that the cultures of the two banks “fit seamlessly together.”
“As we considered potential partners to help move us into the next phase of our growth, it became clear that United Community was by far the best strategic fit,” Peach State CEO Ron Quinn said in a statement. “Their focus on the needs of the customer, combined with their larger balance sheet and expanded product and service offerings, will ensure that our customers continue to receive best-in-class service.”
Under the deal, Peach State shareholders can receive their choice of $31.75 in cash per share, or 0.8978 shares of United stock for each Peach State share they own. Overall, though, half of the shares in the deal will be exchanged for cash and half for stock, United said. The transaction’s $100.8 million value derives from United’s stock price of $34.15 from Friday.
The deal price represents 194% of Peach State's tangible book value, according to Seaport Research Partners.
During a call with analysts Tuesday to discuss the deal, United CFO Jefferson Harralson called Peach State's 73% loan-to-deposit ratio "nice to have in this acquisition."
United is estimating the deal will yield 3% to 4% accretion in earnings per share, according to an investor presentation. The bank is also aiming for cost savings of roughly 40% of Peach State's operating expenses, executives said.
"This is a great example of what we want to do in the merger-and-acquisition space," Harton said on Tuesday’s call. "It is in-market, manageable size, a history of strong performance, great upside potential, and an attractive way to leverage capital and continue to grow our business and our brand."
True to acquisitive form, Harton added that United would be “more than happy to move forward” with another deal, were one to present itself with "similar metrics and conditions to Peach State."
In addition to announcing the deal, United on Tuesday disclosed quarterly earnings – in which the bank reported $84.3 million in profit for January through March. That’s up 18% from the same span a year earlier. Revenue stood nearly pat from quarter to quarter, at $277 million. However, that’s a 11.7% jump from the first three months of 2025.
By comparison, Peach State reported $10.1 million in profit for 2025.
United counts more than 200 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
