Update: State Regulators, Shareholders Approve HomeBancShares Acquisition of Happy Bancshares

(Home BancShares)

Shareholders and Arkansas state regulators have approved Home BancShares Inc. of Conway’s $919 million acquisition of Happy Bancshares of Texas. 

More than 90.7% of the outstanding shares of Happy Bancshares voted at a special meeting Wednesday, with 97.3% of those shareholders voting in favor of the acquisition, Home BancShares said in a news release. 

Home BancShares shareholders voted to approve the issuance of common stock (NYSE: HOMB) in the acquisition. Of the shares voted, 99.5% were in favor.

“I want to thank both the Happy shareholders and HOMB shareholders for their support of the merger,” CEO Johnny Allison said in the release. “The strong vote is an overwhelming show of strength for the merger of these two great companies.”

The approval comes despite a shareholder’s attempt to block the vote over concerns about the deal’s cost, American Banker reported. In response to the shareholder’s lawsuit, Home BancShares submitted a supplemental SEC filing that provided valuations of comparable companies. 

Home BancShares also disclosed a projection showing that Happy Bancshares could generate adjusted net income totaling $83.4 million in 2026, or 39% more than it earned in 2020.

The Arkansas State Banking Board and the Arkansas State Bank Commissioner approved the deal Thursday. The acquisition remains subject to federal regulatory approval.

Home BancShares said it expects the deal to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.