MOULTRIE, Ga., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ameris Bancorp (Nasdaq: ABCB), announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Islands Bancorp and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Islands Community Bank, N.A. Islands is headquartered in Beaufort, South Carolina, and at June 30, 2006, had assets of approximately $70 million.

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Under the terms of the agreement, Islands' shareholders will receive $22.50 per share and may elect cash or Ameris common stock as consideration. The definitive agreement contemplates that no more than 75% of the total consideration will be the common stock of Ameris. Ameris expects the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of 2006 and will be accretive to its 2007 earnings.

"The opportunity to enter South Carolina and extend our franchise along the coast is exciting. Beaufort County is one of the fastest growing markets in the Southeast. Our partnership with Islands and our style of banking positions us to capture this growth and with focused efforts, branch to other growth markets in South Carolina," said Edwin W. Hortman, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameris. Martin Goodman, Chairman of Islands Bancorp said, "We are pleased to be a part of Ameris' growth strategy. The Company's passion about community banking will be very beneficial to our communities, customers and employees."

The Islands' agreement has been approved by each party's Board of Directors and is subject to the approval of the shareholders of Islands, receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Simultaneously with the closing of the transaction, Ameris will merge Islands Community Bank, N.A. into its lead bank subsidiary and continue to move towards the operation of a single bank subsidiary in all four states where Ameris will operate.

Concurrently with the signing of the Islands definitive agreement, Ameris is pleased to announce that C. John Hipp has joined the Company as Group President, with the charge of building a significant presence in multiple South Carolina markets. Mr. Hipp joins Ameris after an eighteen-month break from executive management with another South Carolina-based bank. His banking career spans more than thirty years and includes ten years as CEO of one of the top 200 banks in the U.S. As Group President in charge of South Carolina, Mr. Hipp's mission will be to build an aggressive and dynamic community bank in the state's larger markets. Concerning his new position with Ameris, Mr. Hipp commented, "My short sabbatical from banking has been a once in a lifetime opportunity that allowed me to travel to interesting places. However, I have missed my interaction with customers and employees. Knowing that Ameris has a great heritage, high ethical standards and a strong belief in community banking, I am looking forward to spearheading our aggressive efforts in South Carolina."

Mr. Hortman, commenting on the leadership for South Carolina, stated, "John Hipp is a seasoned, thirty-year banker with a record for recruiting highly skilled professionals with a track record of success. He is a great addition to our management team and having John lead the charge of building a high performing community bank reflects the serious commitment of Ameris."

Ameris Bancorp is headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia, and has 42 locations in Georgia, Alabama and northern Florida. Its common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "ABCB".

In connection with the proposed acquisition of Islands Bancorp by Ameris Bancorp, Ameris and Islands will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a joint proxy statement/prospectus, which will be sent to the shareholders of Islands seeking their approval of the proposed transaction.

WE URGE INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT AMERIS, ISLANDS AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents through the website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. Documents filed with the SEC by Ameris will be available free of charge by directing a request by telephone or mail to Ameris Bancorp, 24 2nd Avenue, S.E., Moultrie, Georgia 31768, attention Corporate Secretary. Ameris' telephone number is (229) 890-1111. Documents filed with the SEC by Islands will be available free of charge by directing a request by telephone or mail to Islands Bancorp, 2348 Boundary Street, Beaufort, South Carolina 29902. Islands' telephone number is (843) 521-1968.

The directors, executive officers, and certain other members of management of Islands may be soliciting proxies in favor of the merger from the company's shareholders. Information about Islands' directors, executive officers, and members of management is set forth in the proxy statement for Islands' 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is available at the address provided in the preceding paragraph.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities laws, including the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and Ameris and Islands intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "suspect," "outlook," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "forecast", "objective" and words and expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward- looking statements.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions and inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward- looking statements, including statements about the proposed acquisition of Islands by Ameris, will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the possibility that the proposed transaction does not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, that Ameris and Islands may be required to modify the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction to achieve regulatory approval, or that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized as a result of such things as the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Islands does business; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations regulating financial services and enforcement thereof (including banking, insurance and securities); judicial judgments and legal proceedings; Ameris' ability to complete the acquisition of Islands and to integrate it with Ameris successfully; reputation risks, and other factors that may affect future results of Ameris and Islands, including changes in trade policies, timely development and introduction of new products and services, changes in tax laws, and technological and regulatory changes. We caution that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive.

Ameris and Islands assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

SOURCE Ameris Bancorp

Contact: Dennis J. Zember Jr., Executive Vice President & CFO, +1-229- 890-1111; or C. John Hipp, Group President, +1-803-429-6210, both of Ameris Bancorp