TowneBank to Buy Mooresville’s blueharbor bank for $154M in Charlotte-Area Push
By Symone Graham – Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal
TowneBank is buying a Lake Norman institution and adding a racing executive to its board.
TowneBank (NASDAQ: TOWN) agreed Oct. 6 to acquire Mooresville-based Blueharbor Bank (OTCQX: BLHK) for about $154 million. The Suffolk, Virginia-based lender announced the definitive merger agreement in a news release.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. It needs regulatory approval and a vote by Blueharbor shareholders.
Blueharbor shareholders will receive $12.70 in cash and 1.0534 TowneBank shares for each Blueharbor share they own. That implies a total of $50.78 per share, based on TowneBank’s 10-day average trading price as of Oct. 2. Stock makes up about 75% of the consideration.
The deal extends TowneBank’s reach along Interstate 77 through Mooresville and Statesville. TowneBank said the acquisition strengthens its position in the greater Charlotte market. It also will end the independence of what CBJ research ranked as the region’s fourth-largest community bank as of June 2025.
TowneBank closed on Raleigh’s Dogwood State Bank in January. TowneBank executive chairman Bob Aston told CBJ in April that the bank has no plans to expand further in Virginia.
“Our future is all in North Carolina, South Carolina,” he said.
Blueharbor held about $628 million in assets, $537 million in loans and $551 million in deposits as of June 30. TowneBank reported $22.6 billion in assets. Blueharbor equals less than 3% of that total.
Blueharbor has grown about 10% since Sept. 30, 2025, when assets stood at $571 million, based on previous CBJ reporting. The bank was founded in 2008 and operates five offices. Branches sit in Mooresville, Statesville and Mount Airy, and loan production offices are in Belmont and Hickory.
Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Blueharbor’s board chair and CEO of JR Motorsports, will join TowneBank’s corporate board after closing. Blueharbor CEO Jim Marshall will become TowneBank’s Piedmont regional president.
“Our customers will benefit from TowneBank’s broader range of products, services and technology while continuing to receive the local service they value,” Marshall said.
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