Locally owned bank acquired for $63.6M

ST. PETERSBURG — Stuart-based Seacoast Bank has acquired Freedom Bank, a locally owned bank headquartered in St. Petersburg, for $63.6 million. The deal represents Seacoast’s third acquisition in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the past three years.

Founded in 2005, Freedom Bank has $276 million in deposits and $249 million in loans, according to a press release. It reported $11.8 million in gross revenue in 2018, up from $8.9 million in 2017.

“Seacoast has found a great opportunity to partner with Freedom Bank, strengthening our position in the attractive Tampa-St. Petersburg market,” Seacoast Chairman and CEO Dennis Hudson III states in the release. “This is an exceptional addition to our two previous acquisitions in the state’s second-largest MSA. We look forward to welcoming Freedom Bank’s employees and customers to Seacoast Bank.”

Seacoast entered the Tampa Bay banking market in 2017 with the acquisitions of GulfShore Bank and NorthStar Bank.

“In creating Freedom Bank in 2005, we sought to fill a need in the market for local bankers who knew their customers by name and could make decisions based on local market conditions,” Freedom Bank CEO Cathy Swanson states in the release. “We are delighted to partner with Seacoast … we know our customers will enjoy its convenient state-wide network and impressive array of products and services.”

Swanson, the release states, will remain onboard as Seacoast’s Pinellas County market president.