If approved by shareholders and regulators, the acquisition is expected to close next year.

Prime Meridian shareholders will receive $58.50 in cash for each share owned subject to adjustment stipulated in the merger agreement between MIDFLORIDA and Prime Meridian Holding Company. The bank’s first quarter report recorded 3,311,943 shares outstanding, placing PHB’s estimated value at $193.7 million.

PMB and MIDFLORIDA did not disclose the financial terms of the purchase agreement.

This represented MIDFLORIDA’s third bank acquisition in the past five years and will expand the credit union’s footprint throughout the panhandle. If approved by regulators and shareholders, the combined organization will manage $9.5 billion in assets, $7.2 billion in loans and 1,578 employees who will run 66 branches and other operations of the combined financial institutions.

The bank's diversified portfolio includes a significant emphasis on residential and commercial real estate loans.

At the end of the first quarter of this year, PMB posted net loans of $694 million compared to $666 million at the end of the same quarter last year. Deposits totaled $870 million at the end of this year’s first quarter, up from $751 million a year ago, according to the bank’s quarterly financial results.

The bank reported net earnings of $2.16 million, or 64 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter of this year, compared to $1.93 million, or 59 cents per diluted share, a year ago.

“As Florida’s community credit union we are already serving the panhandle in a lending capacity with mortgage, auto and commercial business loans,” MIDFLORIA President/CEO Steve Moseley said in a prepared statement. “This acquisition will provide branches in the market to fuel additional growth in both consumer and business banking.”

Chris David, MIDFLORIA’s COO, noted that while many financial institutions are abandoning the branch model, the credit union and the bank share the belief that in-person, in-branch service - coupled with convenient digital options - is an important win for their members and customers.

The credit union provides its 426,720 members with the convenience of extended drive-thru hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and full-service Saturday hours at its 62 branches. The bank is recognized for its high-touch client service and community involvement.

“We recognized the strength in being able to adapt to change and it is fitting we now find ourselves in a position to bring physical locations to MIDFLORIDA’s operations in the Big Bend area,” PMB Vice Chairman, President and CEO Sammie Dixon said in a prepared statement. “The opportunities for our employees (all of whom will be retained by MIDFLORIDA), and the expanded resources available to our clients, are huge.”

This proposed bank acquisition is the fifth publicly announced credit union-bank deal in the industry this year.

Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].