First Bancorp, the parent company of First Bank, has announced it has received regulatory approval to move ahead with its acquisition of Select Bancorp Inc.

Shareholders for each company previously approved the transaction.

Southern Pines, North Carolina-based First Bank maintains seven branches in the Wilmington market and has a 3.73% market share, based on its nearly $580 million in local deposits.

Select Bank, based in Dunn, North Carolina, has a branch in Leland and one in Wilmington. With just over $54 million in local deposits, Select Bank has a .35% market share.

The merger of Select into First Bancorp is expected to be completed following the close of business on Friday, and Select Bank branches will open as branches of First Bank next Monday, according to a news release.

“Following the merger, Select Bank customers should continue to conduct their business with their current Select Bank branches until customer accounts are converted to First Bank's data systems, which is expected to occur in March 2022,” the release stated.

First Bank officials announced June 2, 2021 that their company had signed an agreement to acquire Select Bancorp in an all-stock transaction for about $314 million.

Shares of First Bancorp (FBNC) on Nasdaq have trended higher over the past month, trading at $50 per share as of press time Tuesday.

The value of Select Bancorp’s (SLCT) shares on Nasdaq has seen a similar upward trajectory over the same period, rising from about $16 per share to Tuesday’s price of just over $20.