Florida’s SouthState to acquire Independent Bank

WINTER HAVEN, Florida — Independent Bank Group Inc. (Nasdaq: IBTX), a Texas-based institution with branches throughout the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado, will forgo its independence and will be absorbed by Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Corp. (NYSE: SSB) in an all-stock acquisition deal valued at about $2 billion.

The deal was announced Monday morning and Independent’s stock price churned upward more than 8% in early trading. 

Independent, which has roughly $18.9 billion in total assets, acquired Denver-based Guaranty Bancorp. in early 2019 for $1 billion and rebranded itself to Independent Financial later that year. It operates local branches in Berthoud, Brighton, Boulder, Eaton, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont, Loveland and Westminster.

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“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,” SouthState CEO John Corbett said in a prepared statement. 

Under the terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in early 2025, Independent Bank Group shareholders will receive 0.60 shares of SouthState common stock for each outstanding share of Independent Bank Group common stock and three members of Independent’s board of directors, included bank CEO David Brooks, will join SouthState’s board. 

“We are excited about the opportunity to join SouthState, a company whose culture, business model and credit discipline matches well with ours,” Brooks said in a prepared statement. “The combination of these two companies operating in growing markets provides a great opportunity for our Independent Bank Group teammates, clients and communities to flourish.”