Trustmark, BancTrust Extend Deadline for Deal

Trustmark (TRMK) in Jackson, Miss., needs up to two extra months to complete its acquisition of BancTrust Financial Group (BTFG) in Mobile, Ala., while it awaits the OK from regulators.

The companies have agreed to extend the latest possible closing date of the deal from Dec. 31 to Feb. 28. The extension provides "additional time in which to receive regulatory approval as well as to ensure a smooth transition and operational conversion to Trustmark systems in early 2013," the companies said in a news release Tuesday. All other aspects of the agreement remain the same, the companies said.

The companies anticipate regulatory approvals later this year or in early 2013 with a planned closing in late January but no later than Feb. 28, Gerard R. Host, president and chief executive of Trustmark, said in a news release.

The $2 billion-asset BancTrust said in May that it would sell itself to Trustmark for roughly $55.4 million in stock after a plan to raise new capital fell through. The $10 billion-asset Trustmark would also repay the $50 million that BancTrust owes to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

In March, BancTrust had to revise its earnings to reflect a $50 million loss in the fourth quarter after a review of its loan portfolio forced it to set aside more money for problem loans. It also said at that time that it would put itself up for sale after its efforts to raise capital from two private-equity groups fell through as the price the investors were offering was not sufficient.

This would have been Trustmark's second deal this year. It acquired Bay Bank & Trust in Panama City, Fla., in March.