Nelson Mullins Team Completes Fourth Bank Merger in Four Months with CAB-Park National Deal
Staff Report From South Carolina CEO
Friday, September 14th, 2018
A Nelson Mullins team represented CAB Financial Corporation, holding company for Carolina Alliance Bank, in a $141 million merger announced on Sept. 13, 2018 with Park National Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary Park National Bank, which has $7.8 billion in assets. With more than $730 million in assets, Carolina Alliance Bank is the seventh largest South Carolina-based bank. Nelson Mullins’ representation of Carolina Alliance Bank was led by Ben Barnhill, with assistance from Lee Kiser, Eva Bateman, Maurice Holloway, Wendy Parker, and Kathy Solley. It has been a busy summer for this team as this merger is the fourth South Carolina community bank merger handled by this deal team in the last four months, with total consideration in these four transactions of $204.5 million and total assets of more than $1.1 billion.
The merger is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2019 following receipt of CABF shareholder and regulatory approvals. FIG Partners, LLC, with John Schramm as lead advisor, acted as financial advisor and rendered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of CAB Financial Corporation in connection with this transaction. Squire Patton Boggs and Sandler O’Neill + Partners represented Park National as legal and financial advisors on the transaction, respectively.