Renasant Corp. in Tupelo, Mississippi, has acquired Republic Business Credit in New Orleans.
The deal, which closed Dec. 30, marked the $16.5 billion-asset Renasant's second acquisition of a specialty lender in 10 months. In March, Renasant paid an undisclosed sum for Southern Commercial Finance, an asset-based lender in Birmingham, Alabama. That transaction added about $28 million of loans to Renasant's balance sheet. Republic has approximately $100 million of assets.
Renasant paid cash for Republic, though it did not disclose the purchase price. Republic lends up to $15 million, primarily through asset-based lending and factoring. Since its inception in 2011, Republic has completed more than $8 billion in factoring deals.
While Renasant does asset-based lending through its Renasant Business Credit unit, it plans to operate Republic as a separate subsidiary, retaining the company's senior management team and brand identity.
"RBC has a track-record of growth, profitability and strong asset quality," Mitch Waycaster, Renasant's president and CEO, said in a press release Tuesday. "This partnership allows Renasant to add depth to lines of business where we have expertise and have experienced success."
Renasant declined to comment beyond the press release, citing a quiet period in advance of releasing fourth-quarter results.
Renasant is "a natural cultural fit" for Republic, and the deal "sets us up for mutual success going forward," Stewart Chesters, Republic's co-founder and CEO, said in the press release. "Together we will support more small- and medium-sized businesses under a shared sense of values and credit discipline."
Before launching Republic in February 2011, Chesters was CEO of Bibby Financial Services' North American division.
Renasant was an active acquirer in the last decade, purchasing five banks between 2013 and 2018. In recent years, Renasant has shown more interest in nonbank specialty lenders. In addition to Republic and Southern, it acquired Nashville, Tennessee-based FB Bancorp's wholesale mortgage division in April 2019.
Renasant operates 157 branches across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. Through the first nine months of 2022, Renasant reported net income of $119.8 million.
Republic has offices in Minneapolis, Chicago and Houston, in addition to its New Orleans headquarters.
