Regulators OK Renasant's Deal to Buy First M&F

Regulators have approved Renasant's (RNST) agreement to buy First M&F.

The Mississippi companies have received all the necessary approvals and expect to finalize the deal Sept. 1, they announced Friday. First M&F's branches will reopen under the Renasant brand on Sept. 3, and the full conversion of First M&F's systems will take place in the fourth quarter, the companies said.

In February the $4.2 billion-asset Renasant agreed to pay $119 million in stock for First M&F, which has approximately $1.6 billion in assets. Renasant, based in Tupelo, has 85 branches throughout Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia; First M&F, based in Kosciusko, has 33 branches.

A shareholder lawsuit, filed in April, sought to block the deal, claiming that the agreement relied on faulty analysis and that more of its details needed to be shared with investors.

In June the companies agreed to settle the suit. Shareholders of both companies approved the deal that month.

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