Colony Bankcorp, Inc., the holding company for Colony Bank, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Cadence Bank to purchase its East Georgia Homebuilder Finance loan portfolio.

Under the terms of the agreement, the purchase price is at par of the outstanding loans plus cash consideration of $250,000. The transaction, which is expected to close on February 26, 2020, and does not require regulatory approval, will consist of approximately $47 million in loans outstanding and approximately $80 million in total commitments.

Commenting on the announcement, T. Heath Fountain, President and Chief Executive Officer of Colony Bankcorp, said, “We are pleased to announce the signing of an agreement to acquire the East Georgia Homebuilder Finance loan portfolio of Cadence. Coupled with our announcement on December 17, 2019, to enter the Augusta Market with the addition of Hugh Hollar to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of the Homebuilder Finance Division, this acquisition will expand our presence in the Savannah and Augusta markets, creating a ‘one-stop-shop’ for homebuilders coupled with our mortgage business. Increasing our fee income and interest income has been a priority for us as we seek to further diversify our loan portfolio and utilize our balance sheet to enhance our earnings. We are excited to welcome the East Georgia Homebuilder Finance team of Cadence to Colony Bankcorp.”

Hugh Hollar, Senior Vice President, Director of the Homebuilder Finance Division of Colony Bank, added, “I am excited to have my origination and administrative team, which has a combined 125 years of experience, serving our builder and developer clients. With the strong economic growth in the Savannah and Augusta markets, our homebuilder finance team looks forward to continuing to provide the financing needed to both long-standing clients and new relationships developed with a leading community bank partner.”