United Bank set to merge with CresCom bank in $1B deal

United Bankshares Inc., the parent company of United Bank, which has 60 banking locations in Virginia, has entered into a $1.1 billion merger agreement with Carolina Financial Corp. and its CresCom bank, the companies announced Monday.

United Bankshares and United Bank would be the surviving entities of the merger, which would create one of the country’s top 35 largest banks, with approximately $25 billion in assets. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020 and is subject to approval of both companies’ stockholders and customary regulatory approval, according to the banks’ press release.

United Bankshares has $19.8 billion in assets and 138 full service banking locations, of which more than 60 are located in Virginia, primarily in Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah region. Following the merger, the combined company will have more than 200 locations split between the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Carolina Financial is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has assets of approximately $3.98 billion. This investment company is parent to CresCom Bank, which has 62 locations between the Carolinas.

United has headquarters in Charleston, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., and has other locations in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

As a result of the merger, United will acquire 100% of outstanding Carolina Financial Shares in exchange for common shares of United. The exchange ratio will be fixed at 1.13 of United’s shares for each share of Carolina Financial.