Three Banks into One

There’s a new $1.3 billion bank holding company in Georgia – and it’s the result of a merger of equals. Heritage Southeast Bancorporation came about as the result of a merger of three institutions, not two: CCF Holding Company, the parent of Heritage Bank ($577 million), of Jonesboro,  Heritage Bancorporation Inc., the parent of The Heritage Bank ($584 million) of Hinesville, and Providence Bank ($92 million) of Alpharetta.

The banks will operate under their own brand names, but as a division of Heritage Southeast Bank, serving customers in Georgia and Florida.  The goal of the merger was to combine “three highly compatible institutions with aligned corporate cultures and a common vision” to “better serve the needs of clients, address the challenges of the banking industry and create value for shareholders.”  The merger application predicted that the transaction would earn long-term earnings-per-share accretion to CCF shareholders by 2020, with a tangible book value earn-back period of 4.5 years, while generating approximately $4.3 million in annual run-rate cost synergies by 2021.