Southern Missouri Bancorp completed its merger with Gideon Bancshares, the parent company of First Commercial Bank. Southern Missouri, as the sole owner of both First Commercial and Southern Bank, expects to merge the two banks in early December, with the combined entity to operate under the Southern Bank name.
As a result of the merger, each share of Gideon common stock held immediately prior to closing is being exchanged for $72.48 in cash, plus 2.04 shares of Southern Missouri common stock.
Brett Dorton, president of First Commercial Bank, will join the executive management team of Southern Bank as an executive vice-president and chief strategies officer.
Greg Steffens, president and CEO of Southern Missouri, commented, “We welcome the First Commercial Bank team members and customers to the Southern Bank family and look forward to working with them. We are happy to see this addition to our presence in southeast Missouri and believe it will significantly improve our ability to serve this region, and also allow us to offer exciting new products and services to First Commercial Bank customers.”
“It has been my pleasure to serve First Commercial Bank’s customers and our team members for the past 18 years. We are very proud of the legacy that Mr. Norman Harty left with our organization,” added Dorton. “Southern Bank is rooted in the communities that they serve, and as we join with them, I am confident that our customers will continue to be provided the same personal service as our team works to meet all their financial needs.”
At October 31, 2018, Gideon reported total consolidated assets of $218.5 million, loans, net, of $150.1 million, and deposits of $170.8 million. On a pro forma basis, the combined entity will hold assets of approximately $2.2 billion. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings per share, exclusive of one-time charges related to the acquisition, and accretive to tangible book value per common in approximately one year, based on the crossover method.
Silver, Freedman, Taff & Tiernan served as legal advisor to Southern Missouri on the transaction, while the Tweedy Law Office and the firm of Yewell G. Lawrence served as legal advisors to Gideon.
Headquartered in Poplar Bluff, MO, Southern Bank operates 41 banking facilities in southern Missouri, southern Illinois and northern Arkansas. First Commercial Bank operates its main office and nine additional facilities in southeast Missouri.
