As part of its merger with BB&T, Atlanta-based SunTrust must sell some of its branches, including two in Georgia.
A report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution said SunTrust will sell 30 branches in total. Most of them are properties in North Carolina and Virginia, but the company will sell its Jesup and Dahlonega branches in Georgia. The Dahlonega branch is located on S. Chestatee Street across from the University of North Georgia campus.
The divestiture, said to be the largest of its kind in more than a decade, is necessary to prevent a monopoly from occurring. The AJC said the Justice Department approved the sale of the 30 branches to First Horizon for $81 million. The acquisition is expected to be finalized early next year.
"Banks and the financial sector are at the heart of our economy," Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division told the newspaper. "Today’s settlement ensures that banking customers across Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia will continue to have access to competitively priced banking products"
When the merger between SunTrust and BB&T is finalized, the company will be known as Truist and will be based in Charlotte, NC.
