ATLANTA, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Darrell D. Pittard, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Premier Bancshares, Inc. (Amex: PMB), and J. Winston
Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of Traditional Mortgage
Corporation, today jointly announced that they have executed a letter of
intent for Premier Bancshares, Inc. to acquire all of the outstanding shares
of stock of Traditional Mortgage Corporation. The transaction, a tax free
exchange of approximately 120,000 shares of Premier Bancshares common stock,
is expected to be valued on October 1, 1997, at the conclusion of due
diligence.
Pittard said, "The acquisition of Traditional Mortgage is expected to
provide substantial cost reductions through operating efficiencies and to
reduce loan funding costs. We therefore expect the acquisition to be
accretive to Premier's earnings."
Traditional Mortgage Corporation operates five mortgage lending offices,
three in metro Atlanta, one in Mobile, Alabama, and one in Jacksonville,
Florida. The Company also has plans to open a new office on October 1, 1997,
in Charleston, South Carolina. Traditional Mortgage Corporation, with
65 employees, currently has a mortgage loan production volume of
$15 - $17 million per month.
"We are very excited and pleased to be merging with Premier Lending and
becoming a part of Premier Bancshares," said J. Winston Brown. "Being a part
of a bank holding company will afford many opportunities for our employees to
grow and expand that we could not offer as an independent. We think their
philosophies and goals are very similar to ours and the merger will be good
for both companies."
Premier Lending Corporation, the mortgage lending subsidiary of Premier
Bancshares, Inc., currently operates six offices in metro Atlanta and has
monthly loan production which averages $43 million. George S. Phelps,
President and Chief Operating Officer of Premier Lending Corporation, said,
"Traditional Mortgage's large production offices in Rockdale and DeKalb
counties nicely complement our existing coverage of metro Atlanta and their
Cobb County office will easily be incorporated into our existing Cobb
location. Their well established Mobile and Jacksonville offices, coupled
with their expansion into Charleston, should position Premier Lending to
generate mortgages exceeding $60 million per month, making us the second
highest volume lender based in Georgia."
Traditional Mortgage Corporation was founded in 1987 by J. Winston Brown
and Robert W. Slocum, Jr. Both gentlemen are veterans of the mortgage banking
industry. Brown is a past president of the Mortgage Banker's Association of
Georgia and Slocum is currently serving as president elect of that
professional organization. After the acquisition, both Brown and Slocum will
hold key roles with Premier Lending Corporation. Brown will serve as vice
chairman of Premier Lending Corporation and Slocum will serve the Company as
senior vice president and producing manager.
"I have admired Winston Brown and Bob Slocum as competitors for years. I
look forward to working with them both in the future to expand Premier
Lending's market presence," said Pittard.
Premier Bancshares, Inc. is a bank and thrift holding company with four
subsidiaries operating 21 offices located in the state of Georgia. For copies
of Premier Bancshares' recent press releases and financial reports, contact
Michael E. Ricketson, Chief Financial Officer, at 404-814-3090 or access the
Premier Bancshares Company News Service at http://www.prnewswire.com.
SOURCE Premier Bancshares, Inc.
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CONTACT: Darrell D. Pittard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Premier Bancshares, 404-814-3090
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