Mississippi’s Renasant Corporation to buy The First Bancshares in $1.2bn all-stock deal
Mississippi, US-based lender Renasant Corporation is set to acquire smaller regional rival The First Bancshares (The First), the parent company of The First Bank, in an all-stock deal valued at around $1.2 billion.
Renasant set to acquire The First Bancshares
The acquisition is expected to close in H1 2025 pending customary closing conditions.
The deal will see The First shareholders receive one Renasant share per each held share of The First, valuing The First at $37.09 per share based on Renasant’s 26 July closing price. According to a report by Reuters, the offer represents a 20.4% premium over The First’s closing stock price last Friday.
Renasant says the merger will establish “a six-state Southeastern banking franchise” with approximately $25 billion in total assets, $21 billion in deposits, and $18 billion in loans.
Founded in 1996, The First operates 111 branches across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. As of 30 June, the bank managed around $8 billion in total assets.
Renasant Corporation is the parent of Renasant Bank, a 120-year-old financial services institution. The company says it currently operates “185 banking, lending, mortgage and wealth management offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina”.
Upon the deal’s completion, Ray “Hoppy” Cole, president and CEO of The First, will become a senior EVP and join the boards of directors for both Renasant and Renasant Bank.
The deal is the second major banking merger to be announced in the US this week after West Virginia-based WesBanco revealed it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ohio-based Premier Financial Corp, the holding company of Premier Bank, in a move that will make the combined entity the 8th largest bank in Ohio based on deposit market share.
