On December 16, Home BancShares Inc., the parent company of Conway, Arkansas-based Centennial Bank, announced that it has received approval from the Arkansas State Banking Board and the Arkansas State bank commissioner of its applications for the previously announced merger with Happy Bancshares Inc., the parent company of Amarillo-based Happy State Bank.
On December 15, the shareholders of Home BancShares voted to approve the issuance of common stock in the acquisition of Happy Bancshares. In addition, the shareholders of Happy voted to approve the agreement and plan of merger. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022
Under the terms of the agreement, Happy Bancshares shareholders, upon closing of the merger, will receive 2.17 shares of Home BancShares stock for each share of Happy Bancshares they own and will be entitled to begin receiving quarterly dividends declared by Home BancShares. Based on a volume-weighted average closing price per share of Home BancShares stock of $24.05 during the 20-trading-day period ending on November 1, the per-share consideration value is $52.19 and the aggregate transaction value is approximately $1.02 billion.
Established in 1908 in Happy, Texas, Happy State Bank serves communities across the Texas Panhandle, South Plains, Austin, Central Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex with more than 60 locations. Established in 1903, Centennial Bank operates more than 160 branches in Arkansas, Florida, South Alabama and New York City.
