Seacoast bets big on The Villages in $710.8M deal

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a day ago

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Arguably Florida's most acquisitive bank is making a move on the state's largest retirement community.
Seacoast Banking Corp. agreed to acquire Villages Bancorporation in a transaction worth $710.8 million that's expected to close in the fourth quarter, according to a Thursday press release.
VBI, the parent company of Citizens First Bank, touts a deposit share of more than 50% in the metro area that includes The Villages, the 150,000-person community in central Florida.
The deal comes just two weeks after Seacoast announced it had received approval from the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to buy Heartland Bancshares. That transaction, worth roughly $110 million and announced in February, is set to close July 11, Seacoast said this month.
The VBI deal builds on Stuart-based Seacoast's strategy to expand in central Florida. Thursday's transaction would add 19 branches to Seacoast's brick-and-mortar footprint and boost its asset total by $4.1 billion, the bank said.
Figuring in the Heartland deal, too, Seacoast will have $21 billion in assets, $17 billion in deposits and $12 billion in gross loans once the VBI transaction closes, it said.
Seacoast CEO Charles Shaffer called the deal a 'rare partnership opportunity to continue the legacy of high quality service to the Villages community with a shared vision for the many years of growth that lay ahead.'
Seacoast expects the transaction to be roughly 22% accretive to earnings per share in 2026. Its tangible book value dilution should be earned back in less than three years, the bank said.
Under the deal, VBI shareholders can receive their choice of $1,000 in cash for each share they own, or 38.5 shares of Seacoast common stock. VBI shareholders alternately could opt for a mix of the two, such that they would get cash for 25% of the holdings and the remaining 75% would be exchanged for Seacoast stock.
The deal's $710.8 million value stems from Seacoast's closing price from Wednesday of $24.91 per share, the bank said.
'Since its founding in 1992, VBI has been committed to providing the very best banking experience for our customers,' CEO Jay Bartholomew said in a statement Thursday. 'In partnership with Seacoast, we are positioned to further accelerate this commitment, creating a best-in-class banking experience supported by a great team of professionals.'
Seacoast's history of acquisition stretches far back from 2025. The lender simultaneously announced two deals in 2021: for Sarasota-based Sabal Palm Bank and Melbourne-based Florida Business Bank. It followed that up in 2022 with a $168.3 million purchase of Miami-based Apollo Bank (which itself had earlier terminated a proposed tie-up with Suncoast Credit Union). Seacoast further cemented its Miami foothold in 2022 by acquiring Professional Bank for roughly $488.6 million.