The parent company of FirstBank continues to expand in Tennessee with the purchase of one of the biggest banks in Franklin, Tennessee.
FB Financial Corp., the parent company of FirstBank, said Monday it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Franklin Synergy Bank in a cash-and-stock-deal valued at more than $600 million.
The Nashville-based First Bank opened its first office in Chattanooga in 2008 and previously acquired the former Northwest Georgia Bank in 2015, the former Clayton Bank in 2017, and the Tennessee offices of Atlantic Capital in 2019. Last year, FirstBank also bought the Farmers National Bank of Scottsville, Kentucky.
FirstBank has grown into the third-largest Tennessee-headquartered bank, behind only First Horizon and Pinnacle Bank, with assets of more than $11 billion, $7.6 billion in loans held for investment and $9.1 billion in deposits on a pro forma basis as of June 30, 2020, following the merger with Franklin.
The purchase will make FirstBank the biggest bank in Williamson County, the richest county in Tennessee, and No 2 in Rutherford County, one of the state's fastest-growing counties. FirstBank is the fifth-biggest bank in deposit share in metropolitan Chattanooga.
"We have joined forces with the leading community bank in two of the most attractive counties in the Southeast," FirstBank CEO Chris Holmes said Monday in an announcement about the acquisition of Franklin Synergy Bank. "We look forward to building on the strong customer relationships that Franklin has fostered."
Founded in 2007, Franklin Synergy has grown to 21 offices in four Middle Tennessee counties and had assets of nearly $3.8 billion as of March 31.
"We believe that this transaction benefits all of our stakeholders, and we firmly believe that we will be better together," said J. Myers Jones, III, the CEO of Franklin Synergy Bank. "Our focus will remain concentrated on our customers, and our ability to serve their needs will be stronger than ever."
With the close of the transaction, James W. Cross IV, Melody J. Sullivan, and Jimmy E. Allen join the FB Financial board of directors.
Chris Holmes, new president of FirstBank / contributed photo