AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Happy BancShares, Inc., the parent company of Happy State Bank, is merging with another southern banking institution.
Home BancShares, Inc. is the parent company of Centennial Bank, based in Arkansas.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Sept. 15, Home BancShares said it will acquire Happy BancShares.
Branches in Texas will continue to be branded as Happy State Bank when the merger is complete said Home BancShares in a press release.
In a statement J. Pat Hickman, Chairman of Happy State Bank, said:
“HOMB BancShares/Centennial Bank is the perfect partner. They think like us and act like us. They are community-focused like us and they serve both rural and metropolitan areas. Forbes has rated HOMB as one of the top ten performing banks in the United States, every year, for the past six years. I have no doubt that they will build on our storied culture of excellence to our customers, stockholders and employees.”
J. Pat Hickman
That merger is expected to close early next year.
The full press release can be found here.