Dominion Bancshares, Inc. , a newly-organized bank holding company, announced the closing of its previously announced acquisition of Grapeland State Bank, a Texas state bank based in Grapeland, Texas.
Through the acquisition, Dominion will rebrand the bank under the name “Dominion Bank” and expand the bank’s operations and geographic footprint into the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Dominion’s senior management team is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Mastor, who brings more than 30 years of banking experience, most recently serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Bank, a $1.0 billion asset bank based in Dallas, Texas operating from 10 banking offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, Houston and Austin. Chief Financial Officer R. Michael Russell, Dallas President Stephanie Baird Velasquez and Chief Risk Officer Derek Norton, each of whom has substantial banking experience and worked together with Mr. Mastor at Sovereign Bank, round out the senior management team.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand the operations of Dominion Bank into the Dallas-Fort Worth market, where I have spent the entirety of my banking career,” noted Mastor. “We received strong local support for our offering, which we believe evidences the need and desire for new banking solutions in our market. We intend to focus on serving the financial services needs of small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and private client banking customers who seek a more responsive and tailored approach in their banking relationships. We expect to hire experienced bankers and leverage technology in a manner that most closely aligns to our customer base.”
To fund the acquisition and support future growth, Dominion completed an initial closing of its private placement offering, raising more than $40.0 million in equity capital. Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. served as lead placement agent for the private placement, and Shapiro Bieging Barber Otteson LLP served as counsel to the lead placement agent. Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford, LLP served as legal counsel to Dominion for the acquisition and the private placement.