UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of earliest event reported: September 1, 2022
SMARTFINANCIAL, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Tennessee |
| 001-37661 |
| 62-1173944 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
| (Commission File Number) |
| (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
5401 Kingston Pike, Suite 600 |
|
|
Knoxville, Tennessee |
| 37919 |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
| (Zip Code) |
(865) 437-5700 |
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) |
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report) |
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
| Trading |
| Name of Exchange on which Registered | ||
Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share | SMBK | The Nasdaq Stock Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the
Exchange Act. ☐
Item 1.01 | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
On September 1, 2022, Rains Agency Inc. (“Rains Agency”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of SmartFinancial, Inc., entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Sunbelt Group LLC (“Sunbelt”) and the sole member of Sunbelt, A. Mark Slater, Jr. (together with Sunbelt, the “Sellers”), pursuant to which Rains Agency has acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities of Sunbelt (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition was completed on September 1, 2022.
Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the aggregate purchase price payable by Rains Agency is $6,500,000, of which $5,200,000 was paid in cash at the closing of the Acquisition, and the remainder of which will be payable in equal cash installments on September 1, 2023, and September 1, 2024 (the “Deferred Payments”). The Deferred Payments are subject to acceleration in certain circumstances involving a change in control of Rains Agency and are subject to set-off for any indemnification or other obligations of the Sellers to Rains Agency under the terms of the Purchase Agreement.
The parties have made customary representations, warranties and covenants in the Purchase Agreement. The Purchase Agreement also includes mutual indemnification provisions, subject to certain standard exceptions and limitations.
The representations, warranties and covenants set forth in the Purchase Agreement, which have been made only for the purposes of the Purchase Agreement and solely for the benefit of the parties to the Purchase Agreement, may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties, including standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to investors. Accordingly, the Agreement is included with this filing only to provide investors with information regarding the terms of the Agreement, and not to provide investors with any other factual information regarding the parties or their respective businesses. You should not rely on the representations and warranties contained in the Purchase Agreement for any purpose.
The foregoing description of the Purchase Agreement and the Acquisition does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Purchase Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure |
On September 6, 2022, SmartFinancial issued a press release announcing the execution of the Purchase Agreement. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this current report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| SMARTFINANCIAL, INC. |
| |
Date: September 6, 2022 | /s/ William Y. Carroll, Jr. |
| William Y. Carroll, Jr. |
| President & Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit 2.1
21260435v15
ASSET PURCHASE AGREEMENT
This Asset Purchase Agreement (this “Agreement”), dated as of September 1, 2022, is entered into by and among Sunbelt Group LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company (“Seller”), A. Mark Slater, Jr., a Tennessee resident (“Principal”), and Rains Agency Inc., a Tennessee corporation (“Buyer”).
WHEREAS, Seller is engaged in the business of selling personal and commercial property, casualty, life, and health insurance;
WHEREAS, Seller owns the Assets (as hereinafter defined), which Seller uses in the operation of such business;
WHEREAS, Buyer desires to purchase from Seller, and Seller desires to sell to Buyer, the Assets (as hereinafter defined) upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;
WHEREAS, Principal is the sole member of Seller and is entering into this Agreement to provide certain non-competition, indemnification, and other representations and warranties to, and covenants with, Buyer as a material inducement for Buyer to enter into this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, Buyer and Seller desire to enter into this Agreement for the purpose of setting forth their mutual understandings and agreements with respect to the foregoing.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the representations, warranties, and covenants contained in this Agreement, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, agree as follows:
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All of the property and assets to be transferred to Buyer hereunder are herein referred to collectively as the “Assets.”
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the transfer of the Assets pursuant to this Agreement shall not include the assumption of any Liability related to the Assets unless Buyer expressly assumes that Liability pursuant to Section B.3.
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Seller:
Sunbelt Group, LLC
737 Black Creek Drive
Chattanooga, TN 37419
Attn: A. Mark Slater, Jr.
ammslater@gmail.com
with a copy to:
Miller & Martin, PLLC
Suite 1200 Volunteer Building
832 Georgia Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Attn: John David Spiller, Jr.
E-mail: David.Spiller@millermartin.com
Buyer:
Rains Agency Inc.
c/o SmartBank
5401 Kingston Pike, Suite 600
Knoxville, TN 37919
Attn: Billy Carroll
E-mail: Billy.Carroll@smartbank.com
with a copy to:
Mark K. Williams, Esq.
Young, Williams & Ward, PC
300 Montvue Road
24
Knoxville, TN 37919
E-mail: mark@ywlawfirm.com
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[Signature Page Follows]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the Effective Date.
BUYER:SELLER:
Rains Agency Inc.Sunbelt Group LLC
By:/s/ William Y. Carroll, Jr. By:/s/ A. Mark Slater, Jr.
Name:William Y. Carroll, Jr. Name:A. Mark Slater, Jr.
Its:Chairman of the Board Its:Member
PRINCIPAL:
/s/ A. Mark Slater, Jr.
A. Mark Slater, Jr.
LIST OF EXHIBITS AND SCHEDULES
Exhibit B.8.a.i – Bill of Sale
Exhibit B.8.a.ii – Assignment and Assumption Agreement
Exhibit B.8.a.iii – Assignment of Intellectual Property
Exhibit B.8.a.vi – Employment Agreement
Exhibit B.8.a.vii – Office Lease
Exhibit B.8.a.ix – Third-Party Consents, Waivers
Schedule B.1.a – Tangible Personal Property
Schedule B.1.b. – Accounts of Seller Included as an Asset
Schedule B.1.c – Assumed Contracts
Schedule B.1.g – Client Information
Schedule B.1.k – Intellectual Property Assets
Schedule B.2 – Excluded Assets as Designated by Seller
Schedule B.3 – Assumed Liabilities
Schedule B.4 – Closing Date Indebtedness
Schedule B.5 – Purchase Price Allocation
Schedule B.7 – Excess Cash Calculation
Schedule C.2 – Third-Party Notice, Consents, and Waivers to be Obtained by Seller
Schedule C.3 – Financial Statements
Schedule C.5 – Excluded Assets Necessary to Operate the Business
Schedule C.7 – Accounts Receivable
Schedule C.10 – Employee Benefit Plans
Schedule C.12 – Governmental Authorizations
Schedule C.13 – Pending or Threatened Proceedings
Schedule C.14 – Changes Outside Ordinary Course of Business
Schedule C.16 – Insurance Policies
Schedule C.17 – Employee Information
Schedule H.6.e – Activities of Seller and Principal Excluded from Noncompete Provisions
Exhibit B.8.a.i
Bill of Sale
See attached.
Exhibit B.8.a.ii
Assignment and Assumption Agreement
See attached.
Exhibit B.8.a.iii
Assignment of Intellectual Property
See attached.
Exhibit B.8.a.vi
Employment Agreement
See attached.
Exhibit B.8.a.vii
Office Lease
See attached.
Exhibit B.8.a.ix
Required Consents
None.
Exhibit 99.1
For Immediate Release
Rains insurance acquires sunbelt insurance
KNOXVILLE and CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., September 6, 2022 – Rains Insurance, Inc. (“Rains”), a wholly owned subsidiary of SmartBank, announced today that it has acquired the operating assets of Chattanooga, TN-based Sunbelt Group, LLC (“Sunbelt”). The transaction is effective September 1, 2022 and marks the first acquisition of an independent insurance agency by Rains.
Sunbelt, formed in 1984, is an independent, full-service insurance agency providing personal and commercial property and casualty insurance as well as life and health. In addition, Sunbelt has a dedicated transportation insurance department that focuses their attention solely on the insurance needs of the transportation industry. Mark Slater, President of Sunbelt Insurance, said, “Rains and SmartBank have a great culture and a proven track record of success. We are fortunate to join this outstanding team and look forward to our role in achieving the vision for growth and providing an exceptional customer experience.”
“Sunbelt Insurance represents many of the finest national and regional insurance companies in the industry,” said Billy Carroll, Chairman of Rains Insurance and President of SmartBank. “We are excited to add this team of hard-working and experienced insurance advisors to our company and look forward to further expanding our service areas in Tennessee and all across our footprint.”
For more information on Rains Insurance, visit www.therainsagency.com.
About Rains Insurance:
Rains Insurance is a subsidiary of SmartBank and an independent insurance agency providing clients with a variety of insurance products and services such as personal, commercial, life and health insurance with multiple locations throughout the Southeast. For more information on Rains Insurance, visit www.therainsagency.com.
About SmartBank:
SmartFinancial, Inc. (the “Company”), based in Knoxville, Tennessee, is the bank holding company for SmartBank. SmartBank is a full-service commercial bank founded in 2007, with branches across Tennessee, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. Recruiting the best people, delivering exceptional client service, strategic branching, and a disciplined approach to lending have contributed to SmartBank’s success. More information about SmartFinancial, Inc. can be found on its website: www.smartfinancialinc.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of and subject to the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding anticipated future events and can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” Forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, statements regarding the expected impact of the acquisition of Sunbelt by Rains. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this communication because actual results could differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. Certain factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from expected results include difficulties and delays in integrating the customers or business of Sunbelt, or onboarding its sales producers; Rains’ inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth or to fully realize revenue or expense synergies or the other expected benefits of the asset acquisition; the inability to implement integration plans and other consequences associated with the asset acquisition; the choice by customers of Sunbelt or its sales producers not to keep their respective business relationships with Rains; effects of competition in the financial services industry, including competitors’ success in recruiting away Sunbelt’s sales producers; developments in Rains’ market relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; and general economic conditions and legislative and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the businesses in which the Company, SmartBank and Rains are engaged. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date hereof, and none of the Company, SmartBank, or Rains undertake any obligation, and each specifically declines any obligation, to revise or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Media Contact
William Y. (“Billy”) Carroll, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
SmartFinancial, Inc.
Email: billy.carroll@smartbank.com
Phone: 865.868.0613