Capital Bank Financial To Acquire CommunityOne Bancorp In $350 Mln Deal

(RTTNews) - Capital Bank Financial Corp. (CBF) and CommunityOne Bancorp (COB) Monday jointly announced a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which Capital Bank will acquire CommunityOne for around $350 million. Capital Bank estimates single-digit earnings per share accretion in 2016 and double digit accretion in 2017 and thereafter, which implies an estimated earn-back period of approximately 2.3 years.

In the merger, CommunityOne shareholders shall have the right to receive, at the election of each holder and subject to proration, $14.25 per share in cash or 0.43 of a share of Capital Bank Class A common stock, with the total consideration to consist of 85 percent stock and 15 percent cash. Based on Capital Bank's closing price of $33.59 as of Friday, November 20, 2015, the merger consideration is valued at approximately $350 million.

Capital Bank said it will appoint Bob Reid and Scott B. Kauffman who are current CommunityOne board members to the Capital Bank board of directors upon the completion of the transaction.

The combination will strengthen Capital Bank's franchise in North Carolina, particularly in Charlotte, as well as in Greensboro/Winston Salem and the Catawba/Caldwell county area.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of each company and is subject to Capital Bank and CommunityOne shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in first quarter 2016.