Union Bankshares acquires Access National

Richmond-based Union Bankshares Corp. announced Friday morning it had made a deal to acquire Reston-based Access National Corp. in an all-stock transaction. The agreement is valued at about $610 million.

Based on financial data as of June 30, 2018, the combined company would have total assets of $16 billion, total deposits of $11.9 billion and gross loans for $11.4 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, each outstanding share of Access National common stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.75 shares of Union common stock. That equates to $29.19 per share based on Union’s closing stock price of $38.92 on Oct. 4.

“It substantially completes the Virginia franchise,” says John C. Asbury, Union’s president and CEO. “I sometimes refer to this as the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle in Virginia for Union.”

The acquisition of Access National expands Union Bankshares’ presence in the Northern Virginia market, the most populous and affluent in the state.

Access has 14 branches in Northern Virginia and one branch in Richmond. Those branches will eventually be rebranded as Union Bank locations. Union’s wealth management and trust operations will be re-branded under the Middleburg banner. In 2016, Access National merged with Middleburg Financial.

Union Bankshares, the parent company of Union Bank & Trust, has 140 branches across Virginia along with smaller presences in Maryland and North Carolina. Last May, Union Bankshares announced its plans to acquire Xenith Bankshares in a $710.2 million, all-stock deal.

Michael W. Clarke, president and CEO of Access National, will join Union’s board of directors and help with the integration of the banks. The companies expect to complete the transaction in the first quarter of 2019.

Asbury says the Access National agreement was a negotiated deal and not an auction for the highest bidder.

“Access talked to Union and only Union,” Asbury says. “My own vision from Union is to recreate the great Virginia regional bank.”

Asked about future mergers and acquisitions, Asbury said it wasn’t as high of a priority as growing the company through its customer base. But he added that there hasn't been a great, mid-Atlantic regional bank in about 20 years.

“It seems there could be an opportunity to extend the franchise into Maryland,” Asbury says. “For now, we’re mostly focused on [growing] this bank one customer at a time.”