The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) (“First Bancshares” or “the Company”), holding company for The First Bank (“The First”), announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Beach Bancorp, Inc. (“BBI”), parent company of Beach Bank based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The proposed transactions will deepen The First’s presence in the Florida panhandle, while also providing an entry into the Tampa, Florida market. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Beach Bank will merge with and into The First Bank.
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Beach Bank operates seven branches across the Florida panhandle and Tampa markets with deposits of approximately $492 million and loans of $456 million as of March 31, 2022.
M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, Jr., President and CEO of The First Bancshares, Inc. said, “We are thrilled to be joining forces with Beach Bank and continuing to grow our presence in Florida. Together, our company will be ranked #1 and #2 in deposit market share in the community bank space in the fast growing MSA’s of Crestview/Ft. Walton/Destin and Pensacola, respectively. In addition to strengthening our northwest Florida markets, Beach will add the Tampa metro and central Florida area to our footprint. Both the Florida panhandle and Tampa area offer significant growth opportunities for our bank.
“Beach has a team of high performing, experienced commercial bankers who will be joining our team. Chip Reeves, currently Beach Bank’s CEO, will join our executive leadership team with responsibilities for Mortgage Banking, Specialty Lending platforms and our Central Florida Region. Henry Gonzalez, currently Beach’s Tampa Market President will join our team as Regional President – Tampa. Chip Falk, SVP- Senior Lender for Beach Bank will join our team as SVP – Specialty Lines including government lending and our derivatives business. In addition, Tampa based Corey McLaughlin will lead our Healthcare Practice Lending Division. Peter Dyson, SVP, NW Florida and Pam Woodall, SVP, Mortgage, will join our team in the Florida panhandle.
“Our companies share a common vision of building a high performing southeast community bank franchise. This combination serves to accelerate that common vision. We look forward to welcoming the Beach team, their clients and stakeholders to our organization.”
Charles N. “Chip” Reeves said, “We are incredibly excited to be joining forces with The First. We share similar cultures that focus on our team members, clients and communities, within a growth and performance mindset. The combination greatly accelerates Beach Bank’s strategic priorities of NW FL Community Bank leadership and Tampa/Central Florida expansion. Our team is fully committed to this merger and we cannot wait to get started.”
Under the terms of the BBI merger agreement, BBI shareholders are expected to receive 0.1711 shares of First Bancshares common stock for each share of BBI common stock. The exchange ratio for the transaction is fixed, which means that the transaction value will fluctuate as a result of changes in the First Bancshares stock price. Based on the closing price of First Bancshares common stock of $32.92 as of April 25, 2022, the BBI transaction, including the exchange of BBI options, is valued at approximately $116.7 million or $5.63 per share.
The transaction is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2022, following receipt of approvals from regulatory authorities, the approval of BBI’s shareholders, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Hovde Group, LLC served as financial advisor and Alston & Bird LLP served as legal counsel to First Bancshares. Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Smith Mackinnon, PA served as legal counsel to BBI.
