Blue
Ridge Holdings, the parent firm of South Carolina-based
CertusBank,
is buying Atlanta-based broker-dealer
Sage Southeastern Securities in
an acquisition expected to close this year.

Following
the deal, Sage Southeastern will be integrated with the wealth management
division of the bank, which is based in Charlotte, NC, and renamed
Certus Capital. It will be led by Bob Hogan, wealth management
executive at CertusBank. The
firms' combined customer base spans the Carolinas,
Georgia and
northern Florida.

The
acquistion will enable CertusBank to offer a wider range of wealth
management products and services, and also adds to its roster of
certified financial planners and investment advisors, the firm said.
Overall, the bank currently has 32 offices and around $1.8 billion in
assets.

The
terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and remain subject to
regulatory approval.