Cadence Bank in Tupelo, Mississippi, said it secured all regulatory approvals for its planned acquisition of FCB Financial just 61 days after announcing the deal, and it now expects to finalize the transaction months earlier than initially expected. That speedy timeline could bode well for other bank M&A in 2025.
When the $50 billion-asset Cadence announced in late January that it would pay $103.6 million in cash and stock to buy the $589 million-asset First Chatham Bank in Savannah, Georgia, it targeted a third quarter closing. Now it expects to finalize the transaction on May 1.
Cadence stands to gain $326 million of loans and $507 million of deposits as it expands in the Savannah area.
Dan Rollins, Cadence's chairman and CEO, told American Banker that his team's interactions with the Federal Reserve, its principal regulator, were fulsome and left no boxes unchecked. A smooth path to approval may have been in the cards anyway, he said, "but it's clear there have been some changes with the new administration" that give him confidence that future deals could also move swiftly.
"That's important because when you have a long time period from announcement to close, you are potentially damaging the acquirer" via elevated costs and uncertainty about the timeline, Rollins said. "You also leave the seller just hanging out there."
Outside observers said the swift Cadence approvals come amid broad expectations for straightforward regulatory processes for bank buyers this year. President Trump, who took office in January, vowed during his campaign to ease regulations and government reviews of M&A.
Analyst Stephen Scouten of Piper Sandler said in a report Tuesday that the Cadence deal moved on "an unusually fast timeline when compared to recent transactions," which have in many cases taken several months or longer to clear government hurdles. "While the deal is small, the speed is notable."
Jacob Thompson, managing director of investment banking at Samco Capital Markets, agreed. "From a 10,000-foot view, it is a positive sign for bank M&A," he told American Banker.
He noted that Cadence is an experienced acquirer, and the deal in Savannah is relatively small, which likely made for an easier review. "Cadence is a known quantity with all the various agencies," he said. "So a quicker approval doesn't surprise me. But still, I do think this was especially fast and does reflect a more positive environment for deals."
Thompson said his own M&A practice is heating up this year in part because of expectations that buyers can finalize deals efficiently. "I would say there are more discussions and more activity brewing," he said. "We're working on multiple transactions. Compared to 12-18 months ago, I'm definitely seeing more people interested in pursuing acquisitions."
More sellers are stepping forward, too, with community banks looking to merge with larger competitors to gain the scale needed to make necessary but costly technology and security investments, according to Scouten. That, along with "signs of regulatory easing, support the view that pent-up M&A demand remains intact," he said.
Cadence's "quick approval reinforces this view, suggesting regulators may already be taking a more streamlined, constructive approach — a positive signal for future M&A," Scouten added.
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Mitch Berlin, Ernst & Young's Americas vice chair of strategy and transactions, expects an acceleration as 2025 wears on. Trump's evolving tariff plans have caused market disruption and economic uncertainty, but he said that once those policies are finalized, all indications are that acquirers are eager to get more deals done.
"The stage is set for a surge in transactions as market conditions stabilize," Berlin said in an email.
