SCBT Financial Corp. in Columbia, S.C., said Thursday that it has a deal that would give it entry into North Carolina.
The $2.3 billion-asset SCBT said it had agreed to buy the $193 million-asset Scottish Bank in Charlotte for $43 million in stock and cash.
The news sent Scottish Bank's share price soaring, by 81.3%, to $34; SCBT's stock slipped 2.5%, to $36.33.
The agreement calls for each Scottish Bank share to be exchanged for $35 in cash, a 0.993 share of SCBT stock, or a combination of the cash and stock. That is an 87% premium to Wednesday's closing price for the thinly traded Scottish Bank shares.
SCBT said the deal would add four branches and a loan production office in the Charlotte suburbs to the company's 45 South Carolina branches.
"We are excited about our expansion into North Carolina and see this as only the first step of building a strong community bank in Charlotte and other North Carolina communities," Robert R. Hill Jr., SCBT's president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
Mr. Hill said SCBT aims to become "the premier community bank of the Carolinas."
Once the deal closes in the fourth quarter, Scottish Bank is to retain its name and operate as a subsidiary of SCBT. John B. Stedman Jr. would remain Scottish Bank's president and CEO.
SCBT said the deal might slightly dilute earnings next year. The price would be paid 85% in stock and 15% in cash.
