Ameris Bancorp announced that it completed the acquisition of Hamilton State Bancshares, Inc. as of June 29, 2018.  Immediately following the acquisition, Hamilton's banking subsidiary, Hamilton State Bank, was merged with and into the Company's banking subsidiary, Ameris Bank, with Ameris Bank the surviving bank in the merger.  Hamilton State Bank previously operated 28 banking locations, with 24 located within the Atlanta MSA, two located in the Gainesville, Georgia MSA and the remaining two locations near the Atlanta MSA.

Under the terms of the merger agreement between Hamilton and the Company, Hamilton's shareholders are entitled to receive for each share of Hamilton voting and non-voting common stock outstanding $0.93 in cash and 0.16 shares of the common stock of the Company. Cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares of the Company's common stock.