Iberiabank buying Florida Bank Group

TAMPA — Iberiabank Corp. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Tampa's Florida Bank Group Inc. The proposed merger of Florida Bank Group into Iberiabank has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

“Susie Martinez [,president and CEO of Florida Bank Group], her team, and the Florida Bank Group Board of Directors have done an outstanding job in rebuilding their organization and preparing for future client growth opportunities,” Daryl Byrd, president and CEO of Iberiabank Corp., says in a press release. “We are very excited to be teaming up with them and entering the Tampa Bay market in such a high-quality manner.”

Byrd says the Tampa Bay area's strong concentration of commercial and industrial companies was a particularly attractive segment for the bank.

Shareholders of Florida Bank Group will receive a combination of cash and Iberiabank common stock. Iberiabank expects to spend about $42.9 million in cash and $47.1 million in stock on the acquisition.

Florida Bank Group Bank has eight offices in the Tampa Bay area, three offices in Jacksonville and one each in Tallahassee and Sarasota. As of June 30, Florida Bank Group had $524 million in total consolidated assets and 110 full-time employees.

Iberiabank Corp. has 280 combined offices.