United Bankshares To Buy Community Bankers Trust In $303.3 Mln Stock Deal

Financial holding company United Bankshares, Inc. (UBSI), the parent company of United Bank, announced Thursday its agreement to acquire Community Bankers Trust Corp. (ESXB), the parent company of Essex Bank.

Under the definitive merger agreement, United will acquire Community Bankers Trust in exchange for its shares. The exchange ratio will be fixed at 0.3173 of United’s shares for each share of Community Bankers Trust, resulting in an aggregate transaction value of approximately $303.3 million.

The merger agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of customary regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders of Community Bankers Trust.

Community Bankers Trust will merge into United, and Essex Bank will merge into United Bank, with United and United Bank being the surviving entities.

The combined organization will be approximately $29 billion in assets and rank as the 38th largest banking company in the U.S. based on market capitalization. The acquisition will result in a combined company with nearly 250 locations in some of the most desirable banking markets in the nation.

Richard Adams, Chairman and CEO of United, said the acquisition takes the company into new markets including Baltimore, Annapolis, Lynchburg, Richmond, and the Northern Neck of Virginia.

In Pre-market activity on Nasdaq, Community Bankers Trust shares were gaining around 27.2 percent to trade at $11.70.

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