First Community Bancshares and TriStone Community Bank have signed a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which First Community will acquire TriStone, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based bank, in a transaction valued at approximately $10m.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, stockholders of TriStone will be entitled to receive 0.53 shares of First Community common stock for each common share of TriStone.
It is anticipated that the transaction will be completed in the third quarter of 2009, after receipt of regulatory approvals, the approval of the stockholders of TriStone and the satisfaction of other closing conditions.
Simpson Brown, president and CEO of TriStone, will remain as president of First Community’s Triad region operating within the Winston-Salem market.
John Mendez, president and CEO of First Community, said: We are pleased to be joining forces with TriStone as we expand our banking network in Winston-Salem. TriStone brings an excellent leadership team to our Winston-Salem operations, which will be headed by Skip Brown and Mark Evans along with a complement of very capable commercial relationship managers and a strong Winston-based retail banking group.
Mr. Brown said: We are very excited about our new partnership with First Community. Their leadership, outstanding historical performance, extensive offering of services and future growth plans create an opportunity that we could not pass on. We believe this is an excellent opportunity for our stockholders, customers and employees.
