Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, December 14, 2015
Vol. 103, No. 021 • Two Sections
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Ameris ‘highly motivated’ for move
Failed deal with mystery buyer led to Jacksonville Bancorp deal Before agreeing to an offer from Ameris Bancorp, officials of Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. did talk to another unidentified financial institution about a possible buyout. The parent company of The Jacksonville Bank could not come to an agreement on a price with that institution, according to a proxy statement filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, those failed negotiations did lead to the merger agreement with Ameris, which was “highly motivated” to make
an acquisition in the Jacksonville market after deciding to move its executive offices to Jacksonville, the filing said. The buyout process started in March, when the CEO of the unidentified institution contacted Jacksonville Bancorp Chairman Donald Glisson to see if the company would be interested in a merger. Through its financial adviser, Hovde Group LLC, Jacksonville Bancorp’s board of directors told the institution that it would be interested in a buyout at $14 a share. The stock was trading at
about $11 at the time. The CEO of the institution told Glisson in May that he would not go above $11 a share, so the negotiations ended. While that deal didn’t work it out, it did prompt Jacksonville Bancorp’s board to consider seeking an acquisition, and it decided in July to have Hovde check with
possible buyers. As that was happening, Ameris Chief Financial Officer Dennis Zember heard at a community banking conference that Jacksonville Bancorp had retained Hovde as a financial adviser, the proxy filing said. So he contacted Hovde on July 28. Zember and Ameris CEO Edwin Hortman then met with Hovde representatives and “informed Hovde that its executives were relocating to Jacksonville, Fla., and were highly motivated to complete a business combination in the Jacksonville,
Fla., market,” it said. Ameris is officially headquartered in Moultrie, Ga., but it signed a lease in early July to move its executives to offices in the Riverplace Tower on Jacksonville’s Southbank. Ameris negotiated exclusively with Jacksonville Bancorp and reached an agreement on Sept. 30 to buy the bank for $16.50 a share in cash and stock, a total of $96.6 million. The merger should be profitable for Ameris, according to the proxy filing. Basch continued on Page A-10
Daubert v. Frye headed to court
Lessons from a legend Jacksonville University Chancellor Emeritus Frances Bartlett Kinne shared a message of persistence, positivity and gratitude during the school’s commencement Saturday. At the podium with Kinne is President Tim Cost, who called her “the original one of our own.”
Photo courtesy of Jacksonville University
By David Chapman Staff Writer
At age 98, Kinne remains a beloved icon at JU
By Marilyn Young Editor Long after Jacksonville University’s newest graduates had strolled across the stage to receive their degrees Saturday, many of them remained on campus. Waiting their turn to talk to an icon — a legend, really — at the university. A trailblazer with a litany of “firsts” on her resume, including being the first female president at JU or any other Florida university, for that matter. A woman with a presence as vibrant as her signature bright red or canary yellow outfits. President Tim Cost just stood back and watched as one generation met another. He knows the power of Frances Bartlett Kinne, who at 98 remains a beloved and vital member of the JU community. She started there as a professor in 1958 and, as Cost said when he introduced her Saturday, “Thank goodness for all of us,
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she has never left.” The graduates had just heard Kinne share lessons about the power of persistence, positivity and gratitude. But many wanted another chance to interact with the woman for whom the university center at JU is named. Kinne welcomed guest after guest, most in their 20s, but some in their 30s and 40s. Their age didn’t matter. “They were all just giddy,” Cost said. The students have always been Kinne’s priority, one of the many ways she’s shown her leadership over the years. In his introduction, Cost recounted how he felt when as a JU pitcher, he would walk out to the mound, look down the line and see Kinne watching the game on an 86-degree April afternoon. “It seeps into your brain that that’s what a leader does,” he said. Cost said Kinne spent as much time with the students as she did with the deans, the
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heads of academic affairs and the largest donors. That affection was clear Saturday.
A life of persistence, positivity and gratitude
“The reason I’m coming here is because I love each one of you,” Kinne said near the beginning of her address. “I am so proud of you.” She drew laughs as she talked about a question she is often asked: How did you get so old? “I’m not sure how I got so old,” Kinne said. A Mayo Clinic study said positive thinkers — which she is — live 10 years longer than others. “Well, I’m already on the 10 years,” she said. Kinne talked about the importance of Kinne continued on Page A-7
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The Legislature in 2013 decided Florida courts should move to an updated standard when it came to how the Florida Supreme Court allowed expert witness testimony. The so-called Daubert standard has been used by the federal government since 1993. It makes the trial judge responsible for ensuring scientific testimony and evidence is relevant and reliable. Half of the U.S. state courts use it. However, The Florida Bar has pushed back. The board of governors in recent weeks resoundingly voted to keep the decades-old Frye standard in place. A Bar subcommittee agrees, although by a much narrower vote, that evidence should continue to be accepted if it has gained general acceptance in its corre- Hogan sponding field. It will be up to the Florida Supreme Court next spring to determine which evidentiary path to follow. Jacksonville attorney Wayne Hogan believes in the current path, the Frye standard. The decision, he said, could influence how juries end up hearing cases and deciding verdicts. “Cases often include expert testimony,” he said. “This could change how expert testimony is admitted.” Instead of generally accepted information being presented in a courtroom, heard by juries and open to cross-examination, a judge would consider beforehand if the testimony should be allowed. Daubert continued on Page A-10
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