First Community Agrees To Acquire Signature In All-Stock Transaction With Total Current Value Of ~$41.6M

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) ("First Community" or "FCCO"), the holding company of First Community Bank, and Signature Bank of Georgia (OTCPK: SGBG) ("Signature" or "SGBG") jointly announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement, under which First Community has agreed to acquire Signature in an all-stock transaction with a total current value of approximately $41.6 million, based on First Community's closing price of $24.84 per share as of July 11, 2025. The transaction value at the time of the merger may change due to changes in the price of First Community stock.

On a pro forma combined basis, the combined company is expected to have approximately $2.3 billion in total assets, $2.0 billion in total deposits, and $1.5 billion in total loans at closing. The transaction will create a 23-office banking company with locations spanning the Midlands, Aiken, Upstate, and Piedmont Regions of South Carolina, the Augusta, Georgia area, and now the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia MSA. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of each company. Closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur early in the first quarter of 2026, is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by the shareholders of Signature and First Community. 

Per the merger agreement, Signature shareholders will have the right to receive 0.6410 shares of First Community common stock for each share of Signature common stock. The merger is expected to enhance First Community's tangible common equity to tangible assets (TCE/TA) ratio by approximately 35 basis points, resulting in a pro forma ratio of 7.45%. It is projected to be accretive to First Community's earnings per share by approximately 4.4% in 2026, the first year of combined operations. The transaction structure anticipates tangible book value dilution of approximately 2.6%, with an earnback period of 2.2 years. The internal rate of return on the deal is estimated at approximately 27.6%, reflecting the strong financial and strategic merits of the transaction.