SOUTHERN PINES, N.C.,
July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC), the parent company of First
Bank, announces today that it has completed the exchange of its
seven First Bank branches located in Virginia, where it does business as First Bank
of Virginia, to First Community
Bank in return for six of that bank's branches located in North
Carolina.
As a result of the exchange, the First Community Bank branches
located in Mooresville and
Huntersville, and the four
branches located in Winston-Salem
opened today as branches of First Bank. Customer accounts
were successfully converted between the two banks over the weekend,
and the transition is expected to be smooth.
In the exchange, First Bank acquired approximately $154 million in loans and $111 million in deposits, while transferring
approximately $152 million in loans
and $134 million in deposits to First
Community Bank.
Richard Moore, Chief Executive
Officer of First Bancorp, addressed First Bank's new customers, "We
welcome you to First Bank. We are eager to serve you, and we
thank you for the opportunity to do so." Mr. Moore further
commented, "We are pleased to complement our recent investments in
the Triad and Charlotte-Metro Regions with these new offices.
Our pending acquisition of Carolina
Bank in Greensboro will
further increase our presence in the Triad when completed."
* * *
First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in
Southern Pines, North Carolina
with total assets of approximately $3.4
billion. Its principal activity is the ownership and
operation of First Bank, a state-chartered community bank that
operates 87 branches in North and South Carolina. First Bank
also has loan production offices in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Greenville, North Carolina. First Bancorp's
common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the
symbol "FBNC."
Please visit our website at www.LocalFirstBank.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which
statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements are statements that include projections,
predictions, expectations or beliefs about future events or results
or otherwise are not statements of historical fact. Such
statements are often characterized by the use of qualifying words
(and their derivatives) such as "expect," "believe," "estimate,"
"plan," "project," "anticipate," or other statements concerning
opinions or judgments of the Company and its management about
future events. Factors that could influence the accuracy of
such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
the financial success or changing strategies of the Company's
customers, the Company's level of success in integrating
acquisitions, actions of government regulators, the level of market
interest rates, and general economic conditions. For
additional information about the factors that could affect the
matters discussed in this paragraph, see the "Risk Factors" section
of the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K available
at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise forward-looking statements. The Company is
also not responsible for changes made to the press release by wire
services, internet services or other media.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION WITH
CAROLINA BANK AND WHERE TO FIND IT
This communication includes statements made in respect of the
proposed transaction involving First Bancorp and Carolina Bank
Holdings, Inc. ("Carolina
Bank"). This material is not a solicitation of
any vote or approval of Carolina
Bank's shareholders and is not a substitute for the proxy
statement/prospectus or any other documents which First Bancorp and
Carolina Bank may send to their
respective shareholders in connection with the proposed
merger. This communication does not constitute an offer
to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any
securities.
In connection with the proposed transaction, First Bancorp
intends to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4
that will include a proxy statement of Carolina Bank and a prospectus of First Bancorp,
as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed
transaction. Investors and security holders are also
urged to carefully review and consider each of First Bancorp's and
Carolina Bank's public filings with
the SEC, including but not limited to their Annual Reports on Form
10-K, their proxy statements, their Current Reports on Form 8-K and
their Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Both
Carolina Bank and First Bancorp will mail the joint proxy
statement/prospectus to the shareholders of Carolina Bank. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR
INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF CAROLINA BANK
ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ THE ENTIRE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND
PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE PROPOSED MERGER WHEN IT
BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE
SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS,
BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED
TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy
of the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other
filings containing information about First Bancorp and Carolina Bank at the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders may also obtain free
copies of the documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission by First Bancorp on its website at
http://www.localfirstbank.com and by Carolina Bank on its website at
http://www.carolinabank.com
First Bancorp, Carolina Bank and
certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under
the SEC's rules, may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation of proxies of Carolina
Bank's shareholders in connection with the proposed
transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers
of First Bancorp and their ownership of First Bancorp common stock
is set forth in the proxy statement for First Bancorp's 2016 Annual
Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on
April 4, 2016. Information about the
directors and executive officers of Carolina Bank and their ownership of
Carolina Bank's common stock is set
forth in the proxy statement for Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc.'s
2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as filed with the SEC on a
Schedule 14A on April 5, 2016.
Additional information regarding the interests of those
participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in
the transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy
statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it
becomes available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as
described in the preceding paragraph.
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SOURCE First Bancorp