Piedmont Financial Holding Company and Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc. Announce Combination of Two 100+ Year Old North Carolina Banking Institutions

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. and WAKE FOREST, N.C., June 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Piedmont Financial Holding Company, the parent company of Piedmont Federal Savings Bank (“Piedmont Federal”), has announced an agreement to acquire Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc. (OTC Pink: WAKE), the parent company of Wake Forest Federal Savings and Loan Association (“Wake Forest Federal”).

Piedmont Federal was chartered in 1903 and serves clients in markets ranging from the Northwest Piedmont to the Triad and Lake Norman. Its merger with Wake Forest Federal, founded in 1922, will extend its deposit client base to include Wake Forest Federal’s office located in the heart of Wake Forest, NC.

Per the terms of the transaction, minority shareholders of Wake Forest Bancshares will receive $34.34 in cash for each publicly owned share. Based on 435,296 publicly held shares, the aggregate cash payment equals approximately $14.95 million. The transaction has an implied aggregate deal value of $36.75 million based on a total of 1,070,296 shares outstanding, which includes 635,000 shares of Wake Forest Bancshares owned by Wake Forest Bancorp, M.H.C that will be cancelled concurrently with the transaction. Wake Forest Federal will be merged into Piedmont Federal, while Wake Forest Bancshares and Wake Forest Bancorp, M.H.C. will each be merged into Piedmont Financial Holding Company. Wake Forest Federal’s branch office will continue to operate as “Wake Forest Federal, a division of Piedmont Federal,” for the foreseeable future.

Wake Forest Federal members will receive mutual rights in Piedmont Federal, which is 100% mutually owned by its members. In addition, upon completion of the merger, Piedmont Federal will establish a $500,000 foundation to benefit the community of Wake Forest. It is believed that this would be the largest privately sourced community foundation in the Wake Forest area. The current members of the Wake Forest Federal Board will initially serve on the Board of Trustees of the foundation, as will one independent member who will be appointed by Piedmont Federal in consultation with Wake Forest Federal.

“This combination brings together two like-minded, historic banking institutions into a stronger franchise that will benefit all of our clients and communities,” said David P. Barksdale, President and CEO of Piedmont Federal. “We at Piedmont Federal have admired the job that Renee Shaw and her team have done to serve their members over the years, and look forward to continuing that tradition together as partners.”