Area bank, in $6 billion merger, to create Southeast financial giant

WINTER HAVEN — CenterState Bank and South State Bank, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., have agreed to an all-stock merger that, if approved by regulators and shareholders, will create the eighth-largest bank headquartered in the Southeast.

The deal is valued at $6 billion and expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, according to a press release. The combined company will serve more than one million customers in six states and operate under the South State Bank name; its shares will trade on the NASDAQ stock exchange under ticket symbol “SSB.”