UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 26, 2022

The First Bancshares, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Mississippi	000-22507	64-0862173
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

6480 U.S. Hwy 98 West, Hattiesburg, MS	39402
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (601) 268-8998

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☒ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: 

Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock	FBMS	NASDAQ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01 Other Events

On April 26, 2022, The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FBMS) (“FBMS” or “the Company”), holding company for The First Bank (“The First”), issued a press release announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Beach Bancorp, Inc. (“BBI”), parent company of Beach Bank, which is based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, BBI will merge with and into FBMS, with FBMS as the surviving company, and Beach Bank will be merged with and into The First, with the First as the surviving bank.

Pursuant to General Instruction F to Form 8-K, a copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by this reference.

Pursuant to General Instruction F to Form 8-K, a slide show presentation related to the transaction is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2, is incorporated into this Item 8.01 by this reference and is also available on FBMS’ website.

All information included in the press release and the slide show presentation is presented as of the date hereof, and FBMS does not assume any obligation to correct or update such information in the future.

Additional Information about the Merger and Where to Find It

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.  FBMS will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 for the proposed merger, containing a proxy statement of BBI and a prospectus of FBMS. FBMS will also file other documents with the SEC with respect to the proposed merger, pursuant to SEC reporting requirements. A definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of BBI. Investors and security holders of FBMS and BBI are urged to read the entire proxy statement/prospectus and other documents that will be filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about FBMS, BBI, and the proposed merger transactions. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by FBMS through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by FBMS will be available free of charge on FBMS’ internet website or by contacting FBMS.

FBMS and BBI, and their respective directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees, may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of FBMS is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, filed with the SEC on April 6, 2022, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information.

This current report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In general, forward-looking statements usually use words such as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “estimate,” “predict,” “continue” and “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, including statements related to the expected timing of the closing of the proposed transactions between the Company and BBI (the “Merger”), the expected returns and other benefits of the Merger to shareholders, expected improvement in operating efficiency resulting from the Merger, estimated expense reductions resulting from the transactions and the timing of achievement of such reductions, the impact on and timing of the recovery of the impact on tangible book value, and the effect of the Merger on the Company’s capital ratios. Forward-looking statements represent management’s beliefs, based upon information available at the time the statements are made, with regard to the matters addressed. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that change over time and could cause actual results or financial condition to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. With respect to the Merger, factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to (1) the risk that the cost savings and any revenue synergies from the Merger may not be realized or take longer than anticipated to be realized, (2) disruption from the Merger with customers, suppliers, employee or other business partners relationships, (3) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of one or both of the definitive agreement in respect of the Merger, (4) the risk of successful integration of BBI into the Company, (5) the failure to obtain the necessary approval by the shareholders of BBI, (6) the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the Merger, (7) the ability by the Company to obtain required governmental approvals of the Merger, (8) reputational risk and the reaction of each of the companies’ customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the Merger, (9) the failure of the closing conditions in the definitive agreements in respect of the Merger to be satisfied, or any unexpected delay in closing of the Merger, (10) the risk that the integration of the operations of BBI into the operations of the Company will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected, (11) the possibility that the Merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (12) the dilution caused by the Company’s issuance of additional shares of its common stock in the Merger, and (13) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions. Additional factors which could affect the forward looking statements can be found in the cautionary language included under the headings “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and other documents subsequently filed by the Company with the SEC. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed.

Neither the Company nor BBI undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For any forward-looking statements made in this communication, any exhibits hereto or any related documents, the Company and BBI claim protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Item 9.01    Financial Statements and Exhibits

    (d)     Exhibits

Exhibit
Number	Description
99.1	Press release dated April 26, 2022
99.2	Presentation made available in connection with the proposed acquisition
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

THE FIRST BANCSHARES, INC.
By:	/s/ Donna T. (Dee Dee) Lowery
Name:	Donna T. (Dee Dee) Lowery
Title:	Chief Financial Officer

Date:  April 26, 2022