Southside Bancshares Inc., parent company of Tyler-based Southside Bank, and OmniAmerican Bancorp Inc., the holding company for OmniAmerican Bank of Fort Worth, have received all the necessary regulatory approvals to complete their merger, the companies said Dec. 16. The merger is expected to occur on Dec. 17.
“After months of planning and hard work by both of our bank staffs we are looking forward to implementing those plans and beginning the integration process,” Sam Dawson, Southside president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. The merger, a stock swap deal valued at about $307 million, was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies in October 2014. The combined company will have nearly $5 billion in assets and become the ninth-largest bank headquartered in Texas, by deposits. Southside Bank has 50 community banking centers and 49 ATMs in 17 cities across Texas, including two branches in Fort Worth and one in Arlington, and $3.4 billion in assets. OmniAmerican operates 14 full-service branches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and had $1.34 billion in assets as of Sept. 30. The combined entity will operate under the names Southside Bancshares Inc. and Southside Bank.
Betty Dillard bdillard@bizpress.net