Deep South regional bank Britton & Koontz Capital Corp. (BKBK) saw its shares shoot up in early trading Tuesday after reports surfaced that indicated the bank chain would be bought out by Lafayette, La.-based holding company Home Bancorp. (HBCP) . The merger was unanimously approved by both boards, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
The deal, worth a reported $34.5 million, includes all eight of Britton $ Koontz’ branches, five of which are located in Mississippi and three of which are in Baton Rouge, La.
Shareholders of Britton & Koontz will receive $16.14 a share for their stock.
With the acquisition, Home Bancorp, whose main holding is The Home Bank, will increase in size to $1.2 billion in assets, $483 million in loans, and $224 million in deposits. The bank will now consist of 31 branches spread throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, with a particularly heavy presence in the historically Francophone Acadiana region of Louisiana.
Home Bancorp rose slightly on the acquisition, edging up 2.05 percent to hit $18.44 a share.
Britton & Koontz traded on almost 70 times normal volume on the news the company was not long for this world. Shares shot up 9.17 percent to hit $15.83 a share.
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