US bank holding firms Reliant Bancorp and TCB Holdings to merge

Reliant Bancorp, the parent company of Reliant Bank, has agreed to acquire rival Tennessee-based bank holding company Tennessee Community Bank (TCB Holdings) in a cash-cum-stock deal worth around $37.2 million.

TCB Holdings is the parent company of Community Bank & Trust (CB&T), which is based in Ashland City. It has banking centers across Ashland City, Kingston Springs, Pegram, Pleasant View and Springfield.

As of 30 June 2019, Community Bank & Trust had around $251 million in total consolidated assets, nearly $169 million in gross loans, and roughly $208 million in deposits.

On the other hand, Reliant Bank, which is based in Brentwood has branches in Davidson, Hamilton, Hickman, Maury, Sumner, Robertson, Rutherford, and Williamson Counties apart from mortgage locations in Brentwood and Hendersonville.  Reliant Bank is a full-service commercial bank that provides a range of deposit, lending and mortgage products and services.

As of 30 June 2019, Reliant Bank had nearly $1.8 billion in total consolidated assets, around $1.3 billion in gross loans, and close to $1.6 billion in deposits.

Reliant Bancorp to acquire TCB Holdings. Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.

The proposed merged entity – the enlarged Reliant Bank will be the third-largest community bank by deposits based in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area (Nashville MSA) based on the financial data as of 30 June 2019.

The enlarged bank holding company is estimated to have assets of nearly $2.0 billion, deposits of around $1.8 billion, gross loans of about $1.5 billion. It will operate 22 full-service branches across Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga.

The acquisition is expected to bolster Reliant Bank’s current deposit market share in the Nashville MSA by adding nearly $208 million in attractive deposits.

DeVan Ard, Jr – Chairman, President, and CEO of Reliant Bank said: “Our companies share similar values, and our partnership will reinforce the foundation for an extraordinary financial services company that emphasizes service to our customers, employees, and communities.

“The transaction meets all of our criteria for an acquisition, will be immediately accretive to earnings and provides a strong core deposit base. Community Bank & Trust also has excellent asset quality and the No. 1 deposit market share in a growing county in the Nashville MSA. The proposed acquisition adds four branches in Cheatham County, which is contiguous to our existing Nashville market, and expands our offices and market penetration in Robertson County, another strong market for Reliant.”

TCB Holdings will exchange each of its shares with 0.769 shares of Reliant Bank shares plus $17.13 in cash.

Debbie Small – President and CEO of Community Bank & Trust said: “We are proud to partner with Reliant Bank and believe the merger is an excellent fit for our customers, employees, and shareholders.

“We believe this combination will better align our resources, enhance our financial strength, and expand our product offerings and technology solutions, all while allowing us to remain actively involved in our communities.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q1 2020 once it gets the approval of the shareholders of TCB Holdings, secures all the necessary regulatory approvals, and meets other customary closing conditions.