Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, the holding company for Seacoast National Bank, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Legacy Bank of Florida in a transaction that will expand Seacoast’s presence in Broward and Palm Beach counties in Florida.

Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Legacy Bank of Florida will be merged with and into Seacoast National Bank. Legacy Bank operates five branches across the two counties, with deposits of approximately $432 million and loans of $482 million as of Dec. 31, 2020.

“Legacy Bank of Florida is a customer-focused franchise with an outstanding reputation for service excellence and deep customer relationships in this important market. We see great opportunity in complementing its strengths with Seacoast’s innovation and breadth of offerings to grow our presence and expand our position in South Florida,” Charles M. Shaffer, president and CEO of Seacoast, said. “The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings in 2021 with minimal dilution of tangible book value and will build upon our previous South Florida acquisitions, adding scale in one of the fastest growing and dynamic markets in the United States. We look forward to welcoming the employees and customers of Legacy Bank to the Seacoast franchise.”

“Since 2006, Legacy Bank of Florida has been committed to white glove service, local decision-making and competitive products. We are delighted to partner with Seacoast, which shares our values and has been serving Florida consumers and businesses for more than 90 years,” Dennis G. Bedley, chairman and CEO of Legacy Bank of Florida, sasid.

Following the merger, Bedley will remain with Seacoast, serving as Broward County market president.

The transaction will increase Seacoast’s deposits in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach MSA by 41% to approximately $1.4 billion. Seacoast expects the transaction to be 2% accretive to earnings per share in 2021, excluding one-time transaction costs, with minimal dilution of tangible book value per share, and 6% accretive to earnings per share in 2022.

Seacoast previously expanded in Palm Beach and Broward counties with the acquisitions of Grand Bankshares in 2015, Palm Beach Community Bank in 2017, First Green Bancorp in 2018 and First Bank of the Palm Beaches in 2020.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Legacy Bank shareholders are expected to receive 0.1703 shares of Seacoast common stock for each share of Legacy Bank common stock they own. The exchange ratio for the transaction is fixed, which means that the transaction value will fluctuate as a result of changes in Seacoast’s stock price. Based on Seacoast’s closing price of $35.53 as of March 23, 2021, the Legacy Bank transaction, including the exchange of Legacy Bank options, is valued at approximately $102.2 million or $6.05 per share.

Closing of the transaction is expected in Q3/21, following receipt of approvals from regulatory authorities, the approval of Legacy shareholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Piper Sandler served as financial advisor and Alston & Bird served as legal counsel to Seacoast. Hovde Group served as financial advisor and Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford served as legal counsel to Legacy Bank.