HOUSTON, Sept. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. ABTX (“Allegiance”), the holding company of Allegiance Bank, and CBTX, Inc. CBTX (“CBTX”), the holding company of CommunityBank of Texas, NA, today jointly announced the completion of the merger of equals between Allegiance and CBTX to form Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (“Stellar”), effective October 1, 2022 Through the merger creates the ninth largest Texas-headquartered bank with the nineteenth-largest deposit market share in the state of Texas.
“The completion of this merger brings together our two similarly aligned community banks,” said CBTX Chairman, CEO and President Robert R. Franklin, Jr., who will lead Stellar as CEO. “The transaction will create significant value for shareholders of both companies, provide an enhanced footprint and broader financial services offerings that better serve the needs of our clients, and create new opportunities that will benefit our employees,” Franklin continued.
“We are excited about the culmination of this merger as we believe it is an important step in building a franchise with greater competitive advantage, profitability and future growth potential,” said Steve Retzloff, who will serve as Executive Chairman of Stellar. “Our teams have worked incredibly hard to get us to this point. We are very much looking forward to starting this new chapter together with outstanding customer service”, concludes Retzloff.
Stellar’s common shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on October 3, 2022 under the ticker symbol “STEL.”
Upon the effective date of the merger, each common share of Allegiance will entitle it to receive 1.4184 common shares of Stellar. Allegiance shareholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares under the terms of the merger agreement. CBTX shareholders will continue to hold their common stock under the new name and ticker symbol.
Bank locations for Allegiance Bank and CommunityBank of Texas, NA will be…
