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""BB&T"":http://www.bbt.com/default.html looked southward to acquire Florida-based ""BankAtlantic"":https://www.bankatlantic.com/default.html Tuesday, assuming $3.3 billion in low-cost deposits and 78 branches from the retail lender in the process, according to statements released by the companies.
[IMAGE]The move ranks BB&T ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô one of the largest U.S. banks by assets ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the sixth largest franchise in the Miami market. The North Carolina-based acquirer will pay $301 million above the premium price for the deposits and branches, plus $2.1 billion in performing loans.
In buying BankAtlantic, BB&T will refrain from bringing on any other obligations, including nonperforming loans and bank-owned properties, which will stay with the holding company.
""This acquisition of BankAtlantic is a compelling strategic expansion into important long-term markets in Southeast Florida,"" ""Kelly King"":http://www.bbt.com/about/corporategovernance/profile/kking.html, BB&T's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
[COLUMN_BREAK]A spokesperson for BankAtlantic could not be immediately reached for comment.
Speaking with _MReport_, ""Daryl Bible"":http://people.forbes.com/profile/daryl-n-bible/122421, BB&T's CFO, echoed King by calling the BankAtlantic acquisition ""strategic in that it increases our share in Southeast Florida at a very low-risk and attractive franchise. It's a win-win-win for us.""
He says that BankAtlantic ""seems very pleased with the transaction as well.""
Jefferson Harralson, a bank analyst with ""Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc."":http://kbw.com/, calls the acquisition by BB&T ""a smaller deal"" than one that could have secured more assets and deposits.
Harralson describes BankAtlantic as a financial institution that has struggled for a long time.
""It's a deal where BB&T is basically assuming assets and liabilities without writing a check,"" he says. ""They're cherry-picking the assets from BankAtlantic.""
He says that the acquisition helps BankAtlantic by shrinking the size of a company that continued to suffer losses, allowing executives there to ""manage and wind down"" assets to make a profit over time.
Bible demurs when asked whether BB&T, described by ""_Reuters_"":http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/01/us-bankatlantic-bbt-idUSTRE7A03ED20111101 as one of the stronger firms to emerge unscathed from the financial crisis, intends to assume the deposits and branches of any other ventures in the near future.
The acquisition is a move up for the bank, which received rescue funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008 and recently reported a 48-percent increase in net income over the second quarter.
