Dive Brief:

• Greenville, South Carolina-based United Community Banks has agreed to acquire American National Bank in a roughly $80 million, all-stock deal meant to boost its presence in the Miami area, the banks announced Tuesday.
• The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, would be United Community’s sixth acquisition since 2018, according to American Banker, and the bank network’s second straight in south Florida.
• “We made an investment in this market with our acquisition of First National Bank of South Miami in 2023 and currently have an experienced and expanding team in place,” United Community CEO Lynn Harton said in a release Tuesday. “The acquisition of American National Bank is an exciting opportunity to add a customer service-focused hub in an attractive area with a team that shares our values of customer service, employee engagement and community development.”

Dive Insight:

Oakland Park, Florida-based ANB has just one location, but it’ll add $439 million in assets to United Community’s $27.4 billion total. ANB also counts $374 million in deposits and $322 million in loans, and primarily serves Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“In selecting a partner to help propel us into the next phase of our growth, it was important to identify a bank that was aligned with our core values. United Community is an exceptional fit,” Ginger Martin, ANB’s CEO, said in Tuesday’s release. “Their focus on the needs of the customer, combined with their larger balance sheet and expanded product and service offerings, will ensure that our customers continue to receive best-in-class service.”

The deal puts further daylight between 2024 and its predecessor in terms of both the number and volume of bank mergers and acquisitions. While 2023 saw 98 transactions worth about $4.15 billion, according to S&P Global, this year has seen more than 110 deals worth over $13 billion.

Expected loosening of regulations with the incoming Trump administration could propel 2025 past this year’s totals, Jacob Thompson, managing director of investment banking at Samco Capital Markets, told American Banker.

"That won't change overnight, but I think there are now more positives than negatives for bank M&A," Thompson said. "I'm guardedly optimistic.”

Since acquiring First National Bank of South Miami last year in a roughly $116 million deal, United Community has emphasized optimizing its assets. The South Carolina lender said in September it would sell $318.2 million in manufactured-housing loans it acquired in 2022 in a purchase of Tennessee-based Reliant Bancorp. 

Harton in September, though, signaled that United Community would continue its acquisitive streak.

"We've taken this kind of lull in the market to ... tune up our strategy, clarify what we're good at and what we're not, and clarify where we want to invest going forward,” Harton told American Banker at the time.

ANB shareholders will receive 1.650 shares of United Community common stock for each ANB share they own, the banks said. The merger is expected to be accretive to United Community’s earnings per share in 2026.