Hall bank merger announced

GAINESVILLE - Two Hall County banking institutions are merging.

GB&T Bancshares, a Gainesville bank-holding company, announced Monday it will acquire Southern Heritage Bank of Oakwood.

Officials say the plan is for Southern Heritage to keep its name and identity, while becoming a division of GB&T.

The combined assets of Southern Heritage and GB&T's flagship bank, Gainesville Bank and Trust will exceed $500 million dollars.

This is GB&T's first acquisition within a market where it has existing banking operations.

GB&T President and CEO Richard Hunt says the deal is "initially valued at $28.8 million."

Casey Cagle, Chairman of Southern Heritage's Board of Directors, said "We look forward to joining GB&T. The merger will allow us to provide our customers with more locations and an expanded ATM network, plus additional services including Internet banking and trust and brokerage services."

The transaction is expected to close by the end of second quarter this year.