MD-based Sandy Spring Bancorp to be acquired by At

Daily Record Staff//October 21, 2024//

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Sandy Spring Bank President and CEO Daniel J. Schrider is shown outside the Olney branch. Schrider will join the Atlantic Union board of directors following Sandy Spring’s merger with Atlantic Union. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Spring Bank)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation and Olney-based Sandy Spring Bancorp Monday announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement for Atlantic Union to acquire Sandy Spring in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.6 billion.

Combining the two organizations will create the largest regional bank headquartered in the lower mid-Atlantic, officials said, and significantly enhance the combined company’s presence in northern Virginia and Maryland.

Founded in 1868, Sandy Spring Bancorp has $14.4 billion in assets, $11.7 billion in total deposits and $11.5 billion in total loans as of Sept. 30. The combined company will have pro forma total assets of $39.2 billion, total deposits of $32 billion and gross loans of $29.8 billion, based on financial data as of Sept. 30. The combined company’s mid-Atlantic banking presence will be enhanced through the addition of 53 branch locations and Atlantic Union will approximately double its wealth business by increasing assets under management by more than $6.5 billion.

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Under the terms of the merger agreement, each outstanding share of Sandy Spring common stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.9 shares of Atlantic Union common stock. This values the transaction at approximately $34.93 per Sandy Spring common share, based on Atlantic Union’s closing stock price on Oct. 18.

Three members of the Sandy Spring Bancorp board of directors, including Dan Schrider, will join the Atlantic Union board of directors upon the closing of the transaction.

The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company. The companies expect to complete the transaction by the end of the third quarter of 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Atlantic Union shareholders and Sandy Spring stockholders.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial adviser to Atlantic Union and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as its legal adviser in the transaction. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., A Stifel Company, is acting as financial advisor to Sandy Spring and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP is acting as its legal adviser in the transaction.