On April 12, Tupelo, Mississippi-based BancorpSouth Bank and Houston-based Cadence Bancorporation, the parent company of Cadence Bank NA, jointly announced that they have entered into a merger agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger with a total market value of more than $6 billion to create a leading Texas and Southeastern regional bank. BancorpSouth shareholders will own approximately 55 percent of the combined company and Cadence shareholders will own approximately 45 percent. The company will combine the aesthetics of both brands and logos and operate as Cadence Bank. The company will have dual headquarters in Tupelo and Houston with operations centers in Tupelo and Birmingham, Alabama, as well as specialty sites in Macon, Georgia; Starkville, Mississippi; and Houston. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Dan Rollins, chairman of the board at BancorpSouth, will be the chairman and CEO and Paul Murphy , chairman and CEO of Cadence Bancorporation, will serve as executive vice chairman of the combined company. In addition, Chris Bagley will be president, Hank Holmes will serve as chief banking officer and Valerie Toalson will be the chief financial officer. The board of directors will initially be comprised of 20 directors—11 from BancorpSouth and nine from Cadence.
“Cadence has built an impressive commercial banking franchise that, when combined with the strengths of our team at BancorpSouth, seems to be a perfect fit,” Rollins says. “This strategic merger will allow us to expand our reach and offerings with minimal overlap in our existing branch network. Culturally speaking, our mission and values align really well together. Mergers are all about people, and what’s important to note here is that our leadership teams are in sync.”
“I am thrilled to partner with BancorpSouth,” Murphy says. “I have great respect for the franchise they have built over the past 145 years, beginning in my home state of Mississippi. The BancorpSouth community banking franchise is top tier and complements Cadence’s expertise in middle-market commercial banking seamlessly. I was impressed with the team at BancorpSouth early on, and I grow even more so the more I get to know them.”
The merger will create the fifth-largest bank headquartered in the combined nine-state footprint, with a presence in seven of the top 10 largest MSAs therein. BancorpSouth and Cadence Bank have 145 and 134 years of experience, respectively. Employees of the combined companies have invested more than 24,000 service hours towards improving their communities.
Established in 1876, BancorpSouth has approximately $24 billion in assets and operates approximately 305 branches—as well as additional mortgage, insurance and loan production offices—in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
Cadence Bancorporation is a regional financial holding company with $18.7 billion in assets as of December 31, 2020. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Cadence Bank NA, operates 98 branch locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
Pictured above: Paul Murphy and Dan Rollins
