Little Bank to Buy Union Banc in North Carolina

Little Bank in Kinston, N.C., has agreed to buy its first bank.

The $367 million-asset bank said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $30.7 million, or $11.94 a share, for the $298 million-asset Union Banc in Oxford, N.C. The stock deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

The bank will move to Greenville, N.C., and operate as Union Bank. The surviving institution will have 15 branches, $480 million in loans and $550 million in deposits.

"By almost doubling our size, we expect to be able to take advantage of efficiencies and offer new products and services for the benefit of our customers, employees and shareholders," Rob Jones, Little Bank's president and chief executive, said in the release.

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Little Bank's earnings per share, excluding merger-related costs.

John Burns, Union's president and chief executive, will become chief banking officer. Crawford Knott, Union's chairman, will become vice chairman.

Lee Burrows, chief executive of Atlanta investment banking firm Banks Street Partners, is Little Bank's chairman. Burrows and his father-in-law, C. Felix Harvey, were among the individuals who founded the bank in 1998.

Banks Street Partners assisted Little Bank with transaction structuring and other services, while Monroe Securities rendered a fairness opinion. Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard gave the bank legal advice. FIG Partners and Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton advised Union.

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