Shares of United Community Banks Inc. traded higher Wednesday a day after the company announced it was acquiring the Tennessee bank holding company MoneyTree and its First National Bank subsidiary in a stock and cash deal valued at $52 million.
The deal will allow United Community Banks, which is based in Blairsville in Union County, to expand its presence in east Tennessee in Lenoir City, Knoxville and Cleveland. Both MoneyTree and FNB are based in in Lenoir City.
“We entered the East Tennessee market 12 years ago, and we are strongly committed to this region,” United President and Chief Executive officer Jimmy Tallent said in a statement.
FNB has assets of $354 million among 10 branches in East Tennessee. Its branches will operate under the United Community Bank brand after the merger is completed, which is expected by the end of the second quarter.
United said the deal is expected to be slightly accretive to its fully diluted earnings per share in 2015, and 3 percent accretive in 2016 and 2017. United will have $8 billion in total assets after the deal closes.
Wednesday in Nasdaq trading, United Community Banks’ shares were regaining much of the more than 1 percent in value they lost on Tuesday, when the stock closed at $17.65, down, 30 cents.
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