........First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA) and Entegra Financial Corp (NASDAQ: ENFC) announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement Wednesday.
What Happened
Raleigh, North Carolina-based First Citizens will buy Franklin, North Carolina-based Entegra for $30.18 per share for a total of $219.8 million per the agreement, the banks said in a joint press release.
The deal follows a previous attempted merger of equals between Entegra and SmartFinancial Inc (NASDAQ: SMBK) in January that would have converted each Entegra common share into 1.215 SmartFinancial shares for a transaction value of $22.36 per share.
First Citizens said it then approached Entegra and its advisors with a higher offer, leading Entegra to conclude that First Citizens' proposal was a superior one, according to the Wednesday press release.
First Citizens said it will pay a $6.4-million termination fee to SmartFinancial on Entegra's behalf.
