Elberton, Ga.-based Pinnacle Financial Corporation is acquiring Dublin, Ga.-based Morris State Bancshares. .A new name and logo is expected to be announced before the deal closes early next year. Based in northeast Georgia, the $2.2 billion Pinnacle Financial Corporation is the parent company of Pinnacle Bank. Based in central Georgia, the $1.5 billion Morris State Bancshares is the holding company for Morris Bank. The combined company is expected to have 35 branches along with $3.8 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in deposits and $2.8 billion in loans. The bank will include Pinnacle’s more than two-dozen branches in northeast and eastern Georgia — Elberton, Gainesville, Athens and Augusta — along with Morris’ nine branches in the southeastern and central parts of the state, including Dublin, Macon, Houston County and Statesboro. After the merger, Pinnacle shareholders will own 54 percent of the combined company, with Morris shareholders owning 46 percent. “As we unite our two institutions, we strengthen our ability to serve people and businesses across Georgia,” said Pinnacle Chair and CEO Jackson McConnell. The relationship between the two banks’ leadership teams spans more than two decades, said Spence Mullis, chair, president and CEO of Morris State Bancshares. “I am excited to now bring our two teams together under one new name and brand. Together, we’ll be a leading Georgia community bank the entire state can be proud to call its own.”Minneapolis-based Piper Sandler was financial advisor to Pinnacle, while Austin-based Fenimore Kay Harrison was legal counsel. New York City-based Keefe, Bruyette & Woods advised Morris and provided a fairness opinion, while Atlanta-based Alston & Bird was legal counsel.
