Columbus-based Synovus confirms merger. What to know about new company, leaders
Columbus-based Synovus Financial Corp. has confirmed a merger.
After media reports this week that Synovus was in about a potential merger with at least one competitor, the company announced the deal late Thursday afternoon in a news release.
Synovusis merging with Pinnacle Financial Partners, a regional bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, in an 8.6 billion all-stock transaction. The company will operate under the name of Pinnacle Financial Partners and Pinnacle Bank.
The agreement unanimously was approved by both companies’ boards of directors.
Kevin Blair, the current chairman, CEO and president of Synovus, will serve as Pinnacle’s president and CEO. Pinnacle’s current CEO, Terry Turner, will become chairman of the combined company.
This merger creates the largest bank in Tennessee and the largest bank holding company in Georgia, according to the news release. When the deal closes (expected in the first quarter of 2026), Synovus shareholders will own approximately 48.5% of the combined company. Pinnacle shareholders will own approximately 51.5%.
It’s unclear how this merger will affect the approximately 1,235 people employed by Synovus in the Chattahoochee Valley area.
The news release says, “Pinnacle Financial Partners, the bank holding company, will have its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and Pinnacle Bank’s headquarters will be in Nashville, Tennessee, with a sustained commitment to employees and the community in Columbus, Georgia, including through philanthropic giving.”
Synovus external communications director Audria Belton told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Thursday night, “The combined company will operate with a sustained commitment to associates and local communities, including Columbus, Georgia, through philanthropic giving and other impactful initiatives.
“Both Pinnacle and Synovus have strong track records of making significant positive impacts on their communities, and that commitment will be maintained with this transaction. In addition to retaining strong local presences across the Southeast, the combined company will continue its significant employment and philanthropic commitments in Columbus, Nashville, Atlanta and across the Southeast, as well as its strong community development initiatives focused on affordable housing, small business support and economic prosperity, among other worthwhile causes.”
It’s also unclear how the merger will affect the name of the city-owned baseball stadium in Columbus: Synovus Park.
That’s where a $50 million renovation was completed this year and upgraded the 99-year-old facility, previously named Golden Park, into the new home of the Atlanta Braves Class AA minor league baseball franchise, which moved from Pearl, Mississippi. Renamed as the Columbus Clingstones, the team debuted in the Chattahoochee Valley this season.
Belton didn’t answer that question about the baseball stadium’s name before publication, and the Ledger-Enquirer didn’t reach Clingstones general manager Pete Laven or Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson for comment.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 6:13 PM.