Bay Bank of Alabama has been acquired by Hattiesburg's The First Bancshares, the holding firm for The First - a National Banking Association, in a bid to expand its banking business. The merger deal is valued at $6.6 million in combined cash and stock, according to WDAM.
First Bancshares Chief Executive Officer (CEO) M. Ray "Hoppy" Cole explained the terms of the deal: "We are actually purchasing the stock of BCB Holding Company, which owns Bay Bank and we'll give them part cash and part stock, so we'll be bringing new share holders into our organization that were shareholders in theirs. The faces there will be the same. It's a local community bank and the people in Mobile will be banking with the people they've been accustomed to banking with."
Once the transaction is closed, the combined entity will hold a total of $1 billion worth of assets, the report added.
The transaction will also give The First four more bank branches around the Mobile region. In addition, the firm will gain 30 more outlets across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, WDAM reported.
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