NBC Capital Corp. in Starkville, Miss., has joined the list of banking companies to announce plans to enter the fast-growing Florida market.
The $1.4 billion-asset NBC Capital said last week that it has agreed to buy the $132 million-asset SunCoast Bancorp Inc. of Sarasota for $35 million in cash and stock.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
"SunCoast will be NBC's first entry into Florida and will provide a solid base for future expansion," Lewis F. Mallory Jr., the chairman and chief executive officer of NBC Capital, said in a press release.
NBC Capital's Cadence Bank in Starkville expanded into the Birmingham, Ala., market in October and announced plans late last month to enter the Nashville market. The bank has 21 branches, in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Since Jan. 1, 2005, 17 companies have announced agreements to buy banks or thrifts in Florida. Twelve of the buyers are headquartered elsewhere, according to SNL Financial LC of Charlottesville, Va.
SunCoast Bancorp is the holding company for SunCoast Bank, which has three branches in Sarasota. SunCoast Bank would adopt the Cadence Bank brand but would keep its board and senior management team.
