First Bancshares to be Acquired by Renasant in an All-Stock Deal for $1.2 Billion

Mississippi-based Renasant Corporation (RNST) on July 29, 2024, entered a merger agreement to buy a rival regional lender The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) in an all-stock deal valued at $1.2 billion.

Deal Structure:

The terms of the agreement state that shareholders of First Bancshares will receive one share of Renasant common stock for each share of First Bancshares’ common stock, at about $37.09 per share, representing a premium of 21.09% from the stock’s last close.

Company Profile:

The First Bancshares, based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, owns The First Bank, which provides various banking services in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Renasant is a 120-year-old financial company based in Tupelo, Mississippi, providing banking, loans, mortgages, and wealth management services in the Southeastern U.S.

Deal Details and Timeline:

As of June 30, the 120-year-old Renasant had approximately $17.5 billion in total assets, while First Bancshares had $8 billion. First Bancshares’ current Price/Book (TTM) ratio is 1.00, below the sector median of 1.28.

The deal will result in the formation of a regional lender operating across six Southeastern states, with combined total assets of about $25 billion, highlighting the ongoing trend of consolidation in the U.S. regional banking sector.

Last week, regional bank WesBanco (WSBC) agreed to buy community bank Premier Financial (PFC) in an all-stock deal valued at $959 million.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Deal Metrics:

For more details on the merger, please visit the Deal Metrics page here:

Deal Metrics for the acquisition of The First Bancshares, Inc. (FBMS) by Renasant Corporation (RNST)

The Deal Metrics page for each merger or acquisition includes:

– A spread history chart of the merger from announcement through eventual completion or failure.
– Every event as the merger progresses through the expiration of the HSR period, various regulatory approvals, shareholder votes, etc.
– News and SEC filings.
– A history of deal updates.
– And a whole lot more.

Disclaimer: Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.

Editor’s Note: Baranjot Kaur contributed to this article