PENDING ACQUISITIONS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

PENDING ACQUISITIONS

NOTE 2 – PENDING ACQUISITION

On December 17, 2018, the Company and Fidelity Southern Corporation, a Georgia corporation ("Fidelity"), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Fidelity Merger Agreement") pursuant to which Fidelity will merge into Ameris, with Ameris as the surviving entity and immediately thereafter, Fidelity Bank, a Georgia bank wholly owned by Fidelity, will be merged into Ameris Bank, with Ameris Bank as the surviving entity.At March 31, 2019, Fidelity Bank operated 70 full-service banking locations, 51 of which were located in Georgia and 19 of which were located Florida, providing financial products and services to customers primarily in the metropolitan markets of Atlanta, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida. Under the terms of the Fidelity Merger Agreement, Fidelity's shareholders will receive 0.80 shares of Ameris common stock for each share of Fidelity common stock they hold. Each outstanding Fidelity restricted stock award will fully vest and be converted into the right to receive 0.80 shares of Ameris common stock for each share of Fidelity common stock underlying such award. Each outstanding Fidelity stock option will fully vest and be converted into an option to purchase shares of Ameris common stock, with the number of underlying shares and per share exercise price of such option adjusted to reflect the exchange ratio of 0.80. The estimated purchase price is $750.7 million in the aggregate based upon the $34.02 per share closing price of the Company's common stock as of December 14, 2018, the last trading date before announcement. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019. As of December 31, 2018, Fidelity reported assets of $4.73 billion, gross loans of $3.92 billion and deposits of $3.98 billion. The purchase price will be allocated among the net assets of Fidelity acquired as appropriate, with the remaining balance being reported as goodwill.