In December 2022, the FASB issued ASU
2022-06,
“Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Deferral of the Sunset Date of Topic 848.” ASU
2022-06
extends the period of time financial statement preparers can utilize the reference rate reform relief guidance. In 2020, the FASB issued ASU
2020-04
to provide temporary, optional expedients related to the accounting for contract modifications and hedging transactions as a result of the global markets’ anticipated transition away from the use of LIBOR and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. At the time ASU
2020-04
was issued, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) had established the intent that it would no longer be necessary to persuade, or compel, banks to submit to LIBOR after December 31, 2021. As a result, the sunset provision was set for December 31, 2022; 12 months after the expected cessation date of all currencies and tenors of LIBOR. In March 2021, the FCA announced that the intended cessation date of LIBOR in the United States would be June 30, 2023, which has now taken effect as intended. Accordingly, ASU
2022-06
defers the expiration date of ASU 848 to December 31, 2024. United implemented a comprehensive project plan to execute the transition of its LIBOR-based financial instruments to alternative reference rates. United utilized the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) and Prime as the preferred alternatives to LIBOR.
In June 2022, the FASB issued ASU
2022-03,
“Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Fair Value Measurement of Equity Securities Subject to Contractual Sale Restrictions.”
ASU 2022-03
clarifies that a contractual restriction on the sale of an equity security is not considered part of the unit of account of the equity security and, therefore, is not considered in measuring fair value.
ASU 2022-03
also clarifies that an entity cannot, as a separate unit of account, recognize and measure a contractual sale restriction and requires certain new disclosures for equity securities subject to contractual sale restrictions.
ASU 2022-03
was effective for United on January 1, 2024. The adoption of
ASU 2022-03
did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.
2. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
On May 9, 2024, United entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Piedmont Bancorp, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“Piedmont”). The Merger Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Piedmont will merge with and into United (the “Merger”), with United as the surviving corporation in the Merger. Immediately following the Merger, Piedmont’s wholly-owned subsidiary, The Piedmont Bank, a state bank chartered under the laws of the State of Georgia, will merge with and into United’s wholly-owned subsidiary, United Bank, a state bank chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia (the “Bank Merger”), with United Bank as the surviving bank in the Bank Merger. The Merger Agreement was approved and adopted by the board of directors of each of United and Piedmont.
Piedmont is a well-capitalized, single bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with total assets of approximately $2.2 billion, total loans of approximately $1.9 billion, total liabilities of approximately $2.0 billion, total deposits of approximately $2.0 billion, and total shareholders’ equity of approximately $207 million as of September 30, 2024. Piedmont is the holding company for The Piedmont Bank, a Georgia state-chartered bank, with sixteen locations in the State of Georgia.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), each share of common stock, $0.01 par value, of Piedmont (“Piedmont Common Stock”) outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, other than certain shares of Piedmont Common Stock held by United and its subsidiaries, will be converted into the right to receive, without interest, (a) 0.300 of a share (the “Exchange Ratio”) of common stock, $2.50 par value, of United (“United Common Stock” and such consideration is hereinafter referred to as the “Merger Consideration”) and (b) cash in lieu of fractional shares.
At the Effective Time, (i) each option to purchase shares of Piedmont
Common Stock will fully vest and will be cashed out based on a formula that takes into account the difference between the exercise price and the volume-weighted average of the closing sales price on Nasdaq of United Common Stock for the 10 full trading days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the Effective Time and the Exchange Ratio, (ii) each warrant to purchase shares of Piedmont
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