- Key insight: The hefty premium TowneBank is paying for North Carolina-based BlueHarbor Bank reflects the quality of the franchise it's acquiring, along with its scarcity value.
- Expert quote: "The few remaining North Carolina banks are quite valuable." —Brean Capital analyst Chris Marinac
- Supporting data: The Charlotte region added nearly 280,000 residents between 2020 and 2025.
Virginia-based TowneBank has built a substantial franchise in North Carolina, and now it's adding to its footprint in the Tar Heel State.
Towne announced plans Tuesday to acquire BlueHarbor Bank in Mooresville, North Carolina, for approximately $154 million in stock and cash. For the $22.6 billion-asset Towne, BlueHarbor represents its fourth acquisition in North Carolina since moving into the state 16 years ago. The transaction comes less than nine months after Towne closed its third North Carolina deal, for Raleigh-based Dogwood State Bank.
Acquiring the $628 million-asset BlueHarbor would add branches in Mooresville, Statesville and Mount Airy to Towne's existing 16-branch North Carolina footprint. Statesville and Mooresville are inside the fast-growing Charlotte area, where TowneBank currently has five branches. The Charlotte area, which includes many of North Carolina's most affluent neighborhoods, added nearly 280,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Suffolk, Virginia-based Towne entered North Carolina in 2010 with its acquisition of Moycock-based Bank of Currituck. It bought Paragon Commercial Corp. in Raleigh in 2018.
The purchase price that Towne agreed to pay for BlueHarbor works out to 2.2 times the seller's tangible book value, a multiple that Hovde Group analyst David Bishop described in a research note as "rather rich." Indeed, it's substantially higher than the average for 2026 bank deals of 1.51 times tangible book value, according to Seaport Research Partners.
The 18-year-old BlueHarbor reported net income totaling $6.9 million through the first six months of 2026 after recording earnings of $11 million in 2025. Its return on assets, 2.21% on June 30, is well above the 1.37% industry average, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Commenting in a press release, G. Robert Aston Jr., Towne's executive chairman, emphasized BlueHarbor's quality. The selling bank, Aston said, "has a long history of stellar performance along with an excellent reputation across the communities it serves."
"This partnership reflects TowneBank's ongoing efforts to attract experienced banking talent and build meaningful growth markets," Aston added.
A Towne spokesman did not respond to a request for further comment by deadline.
Towne is paying for both scarcity and quality, Brean Capital analyst Chris Marinac wrote Wednesday in a research note. Both North Carolina and South Carolina have been targeted for decades by out-of-state banks, attracted by their growing populations and strong economies.
While some banks — most notably Columbus Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares — have expanded via de novo branching, a number of others have resorted to acquisitions, leading to a steady decline in the number of institutions headquartered in North Carolina. Today there are 38, down from 303 at the end of 1999, according to Marinac.
"The few remaining North Carolina banks are quite valuable … thanks to the scarcity of available targets," Marinac wrote.
In its deal for the $2.37 billion-asset Dogwood State, Towne paid $476.2 million, or 2.1 times tangible book value.
Towne expects the BlueHarbor deal to close in the first quarter of 2027. BlueHarbor CEO Jim Marshall has agreed to serve as the merged bank's Piedmont regional president.
"We're extremely pleased to have him and his team as members of our TowneBank family," Steve Jones, president of TowneBank of the Carolinas, said in the press release.
Kelley Earnhardt Miller, BlueHarbor's chairman, will join the TowneBank board of directors. Miller is the daughter of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and the sister of retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Talks between Towne and BlueHarbor were ongoing for four years prior to Tuesday's deal announcement, Bishop noted in his research note.
"We believe this to be a strategic deal … that will allow for additional commercial banking recruitment activity into a relatively affluent and growing market," around Charlotte, Bishop wrote.
