CenterState to gain first commercial operations in Ga. with Charter acquisition

CenterState Bank in Winter Haven, Fla., has agreed to buy Charter Financial in West Point, Ga.

The $10.3 billion-asset CenterState said in a press release Tuesday that it will pay $360.1 million in cash and stock for the $1.6 billion-asset parent of CharterBank. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Acquiring Charter would provide CenterState with its first commercial banking operations in Georgia and Alabama. CenterState’s correspondent banking division is based in Atlanta; it also has Small Business Administration operations in the city.

Roughly 60% of Charter’s loans are in the Atlanta area, along with 53% of its deposits.

Charter was the second Atlanta-area bank on Tuesday to announce an agreement to be sold. Landmark Bancshares in Marietta said it was being sold to National Commerce in Birmingham, Ala.

Lee Washam, CharterBank’s president, will join CenterState as its regional president for Georgia.

The acquisition would allow CenterState “to expand our franchise … with a stable organization built upon a strong core deposit base and deeply rooted in the communities they serve,” John Corbett, CenterState’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We are particularly excited to be able to have a traditional banking presence in the Atlanta area — a market we know well.”

Stephens and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough advised CenterState. Sandler O’Neill and Alston & Bird advised Charter.

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