The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) (“First Bancshares” or “the Company”), parent company of The First Bank (“The First”) and Heritage Southeast Bancorporation, Inc. (OTCQX:HSBI) (“HSBI”), parent company of Heritage Southeast Bank, announced today that First Bancshares has received regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to complete its previously announced merger with Heritage pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated July 27, 2022, by and between First Bancshares and Heritage. First Bancshares has also received a non-objection letter from the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance in connection with the transaction.
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Completion of the merger remains subject to a 15-day waiting period and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions, including the approval of the shareholders of each of First Bancshares and HSBI. Assuming such conditions are satisfied, the closing is expected to occur as soon as practicable in early January 2023.
Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company is expected to have approximately $8 billion in assets, $7 billion in deposits, $5 billion in loans, and over 100 branches across five states in the Southeast.
