WEST POINT — A change was made to the scenery along Highway 29 heading from Lanett to West Point Tuesday afternoon, as the CharterBank signage in West Point was changed to CenterState.

In April 2018, CenterState Bank Corporation, based in Winter Haven, Florida, acquired CharterBank and the signage change was the latest reminder. According to the CenterState website, CharterBank customer accounts are supposed to transition to CenterState by Friday. 

“Our partnership with Charter allows us to expand our franchise into Georgia and Alabama, with a stable organization built upon a strong core deposit base and deeply rooted in the communities they serve,” said John Corbett, president and chief executive officer of CenterState, in a press release in 2018.

“We are particularly excited to be able to have a traditional banking presence in the Atlanta area — a market we know well.  We are pleased to welcome Charter employees to the CenterState family and look forward to our partnership.”

CharterBank was founded in West Point in 1954 and is the leading community bank by deposit market share in the West Point and LaGrange markets and the third largest in Auburn, Alabama, according to the press release.

Robert L. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of CharterBank, posted a message on the CharterBank website inn 2018, updating customers on the partnership. He said the decision did not come lightly.

“As we evaluated our options for meeting the challenges ahead, it became evident that a partner was needed to help carry the torch,” Johnson said. “We found that partner in CenterState Bank, the largest community bank in Florida.”

According to terms from the agreement, Charter Financial Corp. stockholders received 0.738 of a share of CSFL common stock and $2.30 in cash consideration for each outstanding share of Charter common stock. 

Based on CSFL’s stock price of $27.72 as of April 24, 2018, that equates to a per share value of $22.76 and an aggregate deal value of $360.1 million. 

At the time of the acquisition, CharterBank had 22 locations in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, including one in West Point.