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Item 1.01. | | | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On January 8, 2025, SouthState Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SouthState Corporation (the “Company”), entered into an agreement for the purchase and sale of real property (the “Sale Agreement”) with entities affiliated with Blue Owl Real Estate Capital LLC (collectively, “Blue Owl”), providing for the sale to entities affiliated with Blue Owl of approximately 170 bank branch properties owned and operated by the Bank, (the “Branches”) for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $475 million. The Branches are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Under the Sale Agreement, the Bank has agreed, concurrently with the closing of the sale of the Branches, to enter into triple net lease agreements (the “Lease Agreements”) with entities affiliated with Blue Owl, pursuant to which the Bank will lease each of the Branches (the “Sale-leaseback Transaction”). Each of the Lease Agreements will have initial terms of fifteen years. Each Lease Agreement will provide the Bank with three consecutive renewal options of five years each. The Lease Agreements also will include a 2% annual rent escalation during the initial term and the renewal terms. The Bank will not close any Branches or exit any markets as part of the Sale-leaseback Transaction.
The Company expects the Sale-leaseback Transaction to close in the first quarter of 2025 and is subject to Blue Owl performing satisfactory due diligence on the Branches. The number of Branches sold, the aggregate purchase price, and the resultant financial impact are subject to revision during the due diligence period prior to closing, and could be higher or lower than the numbers cited herein.
The Sale-leaseback Transaction is expected to result in a pre-tax gain of approximately $225 million (after transaction related expenses). Aggregate first year rent payments under the Lease Agreements will be approximately $36 million pretax, with GAAP rent expense of approximately $40 million under lease accounting standards. This expense will be partially offset by the elimination of approximately $8 million in depreciation expense on the buildings. Additionally, the Company expects to earn higher interest income through the investment of the proceeds.
The Company anticipates using the proceeds generated from the Sale-leaseback Transaction for general corporate purposes. Additionally, the Company will continue to evaluate a potential sale of a portion of its securities portfolio that is currently in a loss position. If such a securities sale were consummated, the expected loss from such a sale could offset some or all of the gain realized on the Branch sales.
The foregoing description of the Sale Agreement and the Lease Agreements is a summary and is qualified in its entirety by the agreements, which are filed as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated by reference herein.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and other related federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, including information regarding the expected timing of the closing of the Sale-leaseback Transaction, the number and the value of the Branches that will be sold in the Sale-leaseback Transaction, the risk the Sale-leaseback Transaction will not be consummated and expectations regarding the financial impacts of the Sale-leaseback Transaction. Such statements are typically, but not exclusively, identified by the use in the statements of words or phrases such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “guidance,” “intend,” “is anticipated,” “is estimated,” “is expected,” “is intended,” “objective,” “plan,” “projected,” “projection,” “will affect,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will decrease,” “will grow,” “will impact,” “will increase,” “will incur,” “will reduce,” “will remain,” “will result,” “would be,” variations of such words or phrases (including where the word “could,” “may” or “would” is used rather than the word “will” in a phrase) and similar words and phrases indicating that the statement addresses some future result, occurrence, plan or objective. The forward-looking statements that the Company makes are based on its current plans, estimates, expectations, ambitions and assumptions regarding the Sale-leaseback Transaction, the economy and other future conditions.