Home BancShares, Inc.
HOMB ("Home" or "the Company"), parent company of Centennial Bank
("Centennial"), announced today the completion of an acquisition of national
commercial real estate loans from J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC totaling
approximately $289.1 million. This pool of loans was originated within the
former Doral Property Finance portfolio and will now be housed in a division
of Centennial known as the Centennial Commercial Finance Group ("Centennial
CFG"). The Centennial CFG will be responsible for servicing the acquired loan
pool and originating new loan production. The transaction is expected to be
immediately accretive to earnings.
The Company has hired Christopher Poulton as the President of the newly
established Centennial CFG. Mr. Poulton previously held the position of
Executive Vice President of the U.S. Operations for the former Doral Bank. He
brings 20 years of commercial lending and financial services experience and
has extensive knowledge of the acquired loan pool and growth potential. Mr.
Poulton intends to reconstruct a group of qualified lenders similar to the
group he previously managed. Accordingly, Centennial CFG has hired former
Doral Property Finance Senior Managing Director, Nicholas Santoro. Mr. Santoro
has 33 years' experience as both a lender and an operator in all key
disciplines including commercial real estate finance. He will hold the same
position at Centennial CFG. "I am excited about joining Centennial with its
strong capital position which can support our operation," said Mr. Poulton.
"Considering New York's business climate combined with our group of
experienced lenders, we plan to present Centennial with a tremendous
opportunity for loan growth."
In connection with this acquisition of loans and the creation of Centennial
CFG, Centennial has notified the Arkansas State Bank Department and the New
York Department of Financial Services of its plans to establish a new loan
production office in New York, New York. The loan production office is
anticipated to open on or about April 23, 2015, pending confirmation of no
objection from both states. Once the loan production office has been
established, Centennial CFG plans to build out a national lending platform
focusing on commercial real estate plus commercial and industrial loans.
"We are very excited to welcome Christopher, Nick and the newly created
Centennial CFG team to Centennial," said John Allison, Chairman. "This is an
attractive financial opportunity which will allow us to immediately grow our
loan portfolio, increase income and enhance our franchise."
Loan Portfolio Highlights
This acquisition is currently expected to provide Centennial:
* National commercial real estate loans
* Average loan size of approximately $12.0 million
* Weighted average yield on the portfolio of approximately 6%
* Weighted average loan-to-value below 50%
Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Conway,
Arkansas. Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank, provides a broad range
of commercial and retail banking plus related financial services to
businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals and
municipalities. Centennial Bank has locations in Arkansas, Florida and South
Alabama. The Company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global Select
Market under the symbol "HOMB."
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's
plans, expectations, goals and outlook for the future. Statements in this
press release that are not historical facts should be considered
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements of this type speak
only as of the date of this news release. By nature, forward-looking
statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties. Various factors,
including, but not limited to, economic conditions, credit quality, interest
rates, loan demand, the ability to successfully integrate new acquisitions,
the ability to employ and retain qualified and successful commercial bankers
and changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements,
could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the
forward-looking statements. Additional information on factors that might
affect Home BancShares, Inc.'s financial results is included in its Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian S. Davis
Chief Accounting Officer &
Investor Relations Officer
Home BancShares, Inc.
(501) 328-4770
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