First Bancorp Receives Approval for Carolina Bank Acquisition

2/18/17

By Jonathan Ponciano, NC BIZ News

The Southern Pines-based parent company of First Bank announced Friday it received the final regulatory approval necessary for a $97 million acquisition of Carolina Bank Holdings Inc.

First Bancorp received the notification of approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Feb. 17. The date of the acquisition is expected to be March 3, 2017.

Branches of the bank subsidiary under Carolina Bank Holdings are expected to transition to the First Bank banner this summer, according to the filing.

The filing also said shareholders of Greensboro-based Carolina Bank Holdings will be mailed an election form shortly after the acquisition with instructions and a deadline for electing their desired mix of cash and stock according to the terms of the merger.

The deal, consisting of 25 percent cash and 75 percent stock, was announced in June 2016.

On Feb. 7, First Bancorp announced Michael G. Mayer was named the chief executive of First Bank; he will remain in his role as president of First Bank and First Bancorp while Richard H. Moore continues in his role as chief executive of First Bancorp.

The price of First Bank shares remained nearly unchanged Friday following the announcement of the acquisition’s regulatory approval.

The bank’s holding company announced on Jan. 26 that its fourth-quarter earnings beat analyst expectations and increased nearly 24 percent from the same period one year earlier.

Once the acquisition is completed, First Bancorp’s total assets are expected to total about $4.1 billion. First Bancorp’s annual shareholders meeting will be held on May 3.

Carolina Bank currently operates eight banking locations and three loan offices in North Carolina with around $700 million in assets. First Bank operates 88 branches in North Carolina and South Carolina.

The filing can be found here.

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