In what would be the first acquisition in its nine-year history, Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. in Florida has a deal to buy the $165 million-asset Heritage Bancshares Inc. in Orange Park for $30.2 million in cash and stock.
The deal, announced late Monday, would increase Jacksonville's assets nearly 60%, to $557 million, and expand its branch network beyond its home city for the first time.
The privately held Heritage is the parent of Heritage Bank of North Florida. The bank's two branches, located in St. John's and Clay counties, would be merged into Jacksonville Bank, giving the subsidiary seven branches in three contiguous counties.
"The combination of our two companies will position us to be the largest community bank in the greater Jacksonville area," Gilbert J. Pomar 3rd, Jacksonville's president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
The sale is expected to close late in the second quarter or early in the third.
