Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABTX) (“Allegiance”), the
holding company of Allegiance Bank, and CBTX, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBTX)
(“CBTX”), the holding company of CommunityBank of Texas, N.A.,
today jointly announced the closing of the merger of equals between
Allegiance and CBTX to form Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (“Stellar”),
effective October 1, 2022. The merger creates the 9th largest bank
headquartered in Texas with the 19th largest deposit market share
in the State of Texas.
“The completion of this merger unites our two similarly-focused
community banks,” said CBTX’s Chairman, CEO and President Robert R.
Franklin, Jr., who will lead Stellar as CEO. “The transaction will
generate significant value for the shareholders of both companies,
provide an enhanced footprint and greater financial service
offerings which better serve the needs of our customers and create
new opportunities that will benefit our employees,” continued
Franklin.
“We are thrilled about the culmination of this merger as we
believe it is an important step to building a franchise with
greater competitive advantage, profitability and future growth
potential,” said Steve Retzloff who will serve as Stellar’s
Executive Chairman. “Our teams have worked incredibly hard to get
us to this point. We are very excited to begin this new chapter
delivering outstanding customer service together,” concluded
Retzloff.
Stellar’s common stock is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq
under the ticker symbol “STEL” on October 3, 2022.
At the effective time of the merger, each share of Allegiance
common stock will be converted into the right to receive 1.4184
shares of Stellar common stock. Allegiance shareholders will
receive cash in lieu of fractional shares, in accordance with the
terms of the merger agreement. CBTX shareholders will continue to
hold their shares of common stock under the new name and ticker
symbol.
Banking locations for Allegiance Bank and CommunityBank of
Texas, N.A. will continue to operate under their respective names
until full integration is complete, which is anticipated to take
place in the first quarter of 2023. Upon integration, the combined
bank will operate under the Stellar Bank name. At this time,
customers will not experience any changes to their banking and
should continue using their current banking locations, checks, bank
cards, online banking and other banking services. Signage and
documents will begin to reflect the Stellar Bank name following the
integration of the companies’ banking systems.
About Stellar Bancorp, Inc.
Stellar Bancorp, Inc. will be a bank holding company
headquartered in Houston, Texas. Stellar’s principal banking
subsidiary, created by the merger of Allegiance Bank and
CommunityBank of Texas, N.A. to be renamed Stellar Bank upon system
conversion, will provide a diversified range of commercial banking
services primarily to small- to medium-sized businesses and
individual customers across the Houston, Dallas, Beaumont and
surrounding communities in Texas.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release which are not
historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified
as, “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the safe harbor
provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about
the benefits of the merger of CBTX and Allegiance, including future
financial performance and operating results, the combined company’s
plans, business and growth strategies, objectives, expectations and
intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts,
including projections of macroeconomic and industry trends, which
are inherently unreliable due to the multiple factors that impact
economic trends, and any such variations may be material.
Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as
“may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “scheduled,” “plans,” “intends,”
“projects,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,”
“potential,” “would,” or “continue” or negatives of such terms or
other comparable terminology.
All forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Stellar to differ materially from
any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others: (1) the risk that
the cost savings and any revenue synergies from the merger may not
be fully realized or may take longer than anticipated to be
realized; (2) disruption to the parties’ businesses as a result of
the pendency of the merger; (3) the occurrence of any event, change
or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of
the merger agreement; (4) the risk that the integration of each
party’s operations will be materially delayed or will be more
costly or difficult than expected or that the parties are otherwise
unable to successfully integrate each party’s businesses into the
other’s businesses; (5) the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and
charges related to the merger; (6) the risk that required
regulatory approvals may result in the imposition of conditions
that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected
benefits of the transaction; (7) reputational risk and the reaction
of each company’s customers, suppliers, employees or other business
partners to the merger; (8) the possibility that the merger may be
more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result
of unexpected factors or events; (9) the dilution caused by CBTX’s
issuance of additional shares of its common stock in the merger;
(10) general competitive, economic, political and market
conditions; and (11) other factors that may affect future results
of Stellar including changes in asset quality and credit risk; the
inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in
interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer borrowing,
repayment, investment and deposit practices; the impact, extent and
timing of technological changes; capital management activities; and
other actions of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Texas Department
of Banking and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms.
Additional factors which could affect our future results can be
found in Allegiance’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports
on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K and CBTX’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current
Reports on Form 8-K, in each case filed with the SEC and available
on the SEC’s website at https:// www.sec.gov. We disclaim any
obligation and do not intend to update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained in this communication, which
speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
federal securities laws. As forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised
against placing undue reliance on such statements.
JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Allegiance Bancshares,
Inc.ir@allegiancebank.com
CBTX,
Inc.investors@CBoTX.com
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