Alston & Bird client The First Bancshares, Inc., parent company of The First, A National Banking Association, announced that it plans to acquire FPB Financial Corp, the holding company of Florida Parishes Bank, for approximately $86.1 million.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, will expand The First’s footprint in the Gulf South and greater New Orleans area, where it will gain seven full-service branches.
Upon completion of the deal, the combined company will have 74 locations throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. It will also have approximately $3.4 billion in total assets, $2.8 billion in total deposits, and $2.3 billion in total loans.
This is the fourth acquisition announced in just over a year for The First Bancshares, which is based in Hattiesburg, MS, and listed on the Nasdaq stock market. Previous transactions include The First’s acquisition of Sunshine Financial, Inc. and its banking subsidiary, Sunshine Community Bank; FMB Banking Corp. and its banking subsidiary, Farmers & Merchants Bank; and Southwest Banc Shares, parent company of First Community Bank – Alston & Bird advised on all of them.
Representing First Bancshares on the FPB deal is an Alston & Bird team led by partner Mark Kanaly, associates Will Hooper and John Hobgood (Financial Services & Products), and partner Mike Stevens (Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation).