Capital City Bank buys Georgia bank in $66.6 million deal

<p>Capital City Bank Group has announced an agreement to buy Farmers and Merchants Bank, one of Georgia's oldest and largest community banks.</p><p>The $66.6 million sale, which was announced Thursday, will be made with cash and stock.</p><p>The sale is still awaiting approval from regulators and Farmers and Merchants shareholders. But Capital City said it expects the sale to be complete by the end of the year.</p><p>"Our clients can look forward to the same friendly, personal service they have always enjoyed," Farmers and Merchants Bank chairman Wallace Miller said. "We have built a loyal client base in Laurens County, serving generation after generation of local families. By teaming up with Capital City, the future of banking in Laurens County has never looked brighter."</p><p>Farmers and Merchants Bank was founded in 1910 and has 80 employees, three branches in Laurens County and assets of $411 million.</p><p>Capital City Bank president and CEO William G. Smith Jr. also announced that Farmers and Merchants Bank president McGrath Keen Jr. will serve on the board of directors for Capital City Bank following completion of the acquisition.</p><p>Tallahassee, Fla.-based Capital City Bank has 57 bank branches in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. The acquisition will give the bank 13 branches in Georgia.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>Capital City Bank: www.ccbg.com</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866680)</p>