MOULTRIE, Ga. — Ameris Bancorp, headquartered in Moultrie, announced two acquisitions on Friday.

The company, the parent company of Ameris Bank, announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Ameris will acquire Hamilton State Bancshares, the parent company of Hamilton State Bank in Hoschton, Ga.

Upon completion of the transaction, and including the previously announced acquisition of Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, the combined company will have approximately $11.3 billion in assets and a branching network across four states, according to an Ameris Bancorp press release.

“Atlanta is the largest market in Georgia and one of the largest markets in the entire Southeast,” said Edwin W. Hortman Jr., executive chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameris. 

“While we have had a small presence in Atlanta for a number of years, we have been looking for an opportunity to expand our presence in this important market,” Hortman said. “We have known Bob Oliver and his team for many years and believe their culture and banking philosophy are very similar to our own. We believe that partnering with Bob and his team and the low-cost core deposit franchise that they have built is a fantastic way to jump start our Atlanta strategy.”

Formed in 2004, Hamilton has $1.8 billion in assets and currently operates 28 banking locations, 24 of which are located within the Atlanta MSA, two of which are in the Gainesville, Georgia MSA and the other two of which are in Georgia just outside of the Atlanta MSA. In recent years, Hamilton has combined its acquisition strategy with a focus on organic growth in its commercial business-line to become the fifth largest independent community bank in the Atlanta MSA. Combined with Ameris’s existing Atlanta location, the combined bank will have approximately $1.4 billion of deposits in the Atlanta MSA and be the 13th largest bank in the market.

Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, each share of Hamilton common stock and each restricted stock unit will be converted into the right to receive 0.16 shares of Ameris common stock and $0.93 in cash. The consideration mix is approximately 90 percent stock and 10 percent cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $405.7 million in the aggregate based on Ameris’s closing stock price of $53.45 as of Jan. 25, 2018.

The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Hamilton.

The same day the Hamilton merger was announced, Ameris Bancorp also announced the signing of a definitive stock purchase agreement under which it will acquire the remainder of the outstanding shares of US Premium Finance Holding Company.

Since early 2017, the business of USPF has operated as a division of Ameris Bank, the banking subsidiary of Ameris. Ameris has held a minority ownership position in USPF during that time. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2018.

“When we initially entered in to our partnership with the USPF team, we had high expectations for the quality, profitability and growth of this business,” Hortman said. “After working together for the past year, USPF has exceeded expectations on all fronts. We are excited to be able to acquire all of this fantastic business and continue our strong partnership with the team.”

USPF is one of the largest providers of credit on property and casualty premiums in the nation. USPF has over 25,000 borrowers and over 1,000 agency relationships through its operations in all 50 states. Fourth quarter average receivables were approximately $501 million, an increase of approximately 17.9 percent over the portfolio size Ameris originally acquired in early 2017.