Hancock Whitney Announces Stock-For-Stock Acquisition Of MidSouth Bancorp

Hancock Whitney Bank parent company Hancock Whitney Corp HWC and MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. MSL, the parent company of MidSouth Bank, announced a merger agreement Tuesday for MidSouth to merge into Hancock Whitney.  

What Happened

The stock-for-stock transaction converts each share of MidSouth common stock to the right to receive 0.2952 shares of Hancock Whitney common stock. 

The merger assigns a per share value of $12.75 per MidSouth common share, according to the press release.

The companies said they expect all of MidSouth's outstanding shares to be redeemed at closing contingent on government approvals. 

Why It's Important

For Hancock Whitney, the merger represents an in-market acquisition of $1.7 billion in assets with a balance sheet that holds $900 million in high-yielding loans, $1.4 billion in low-cost deposits and "a footprint that allows for significant cost savings," the company said. 

"The merger fits perfectly with our stated strategies of adding scale and enhancing value through in-market, financially accretive, low-risk transactions that strengthen our current franchise and provide opportunities for future growth," Hancock Whitney President and CEO John Hairston said in a statement. 

What's Next

The deal is expected to close in the late third quarter with simultaneous systems conversion. 

The companies said they're assuming 50-55-percent cost savings and accretion to Hancock Whitney earnings per share beginning in the first quarter of 2020. 

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Photo by Dustin Blitchok.