In Brief: Carolina First Closes First Southeast Deal

Carolina First Corp. has completed a $70 million acquisition of First Southeast Financial Corp., surviving shareholder threats to block the merger.

The deal for the Anderson, S.C. company, which closed Friday, establishes Carolina First as South Carolina's largest independent banking company, with more than $2.1 billion of assets.

First Southeast shareholders received a 0.7971 share of Carolina First stock for each share of First Southeast stock owned. Shareholders considered rejecting the deal last month, however, because the original merger agreement called for a one-for-one stock swap.