SouthState to Acquire Independent Bank Group for $2B

SouthState Corp., a regional lender based in Winter Haven, FL, has agreed to buy Independent Bank Group, a smaller rival based in McKinney, TX, in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $2 billion, boosting its business in Texas and Colorado.

The combined company will have $65 billion in total assets and a market capitalization of approximately $8.2 billion. Independent Bank Group shareholders will receive 0.60 share of SouthState common stock for each share of Independent Bank Group common stock they hold. The bank operates in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Houston areas, and the Colorado Front Range.

The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2025, has been approved by all Independent Bank Group’s board members and other significant shareholders, who collectively own about 13.2% of the bank.

Independent Bank, which does business as Independent Financial, has about $18.9 billion in total assets, $15.7 billion in deposits and $14.6 billion in loans.

Additionally, three Independent Bank Group directors, including David Brooks and Independent Bank Group’s Lead Independent Director G. Stacy Smith, will join both the SouthState Corporation board and the SouthState Bank board

“With a local, geographic management model, an industry-leading track record on credit and a presence in some of the best markets in the country, Independent Bank Group is a great fit with SouthState,” said SouthState CEO John Corbett.

The transaction illustrates the ongoing consolidation in the US regional banking sector following the bankruptcies of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March 2023, which caused mayhem in the industry.