# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000018349
**File Stem:** 0001140361-25-028198
**Filing Date:** 2025-7
**Character Count:** 18949
**Document Hash:** 2888506e421e373549d6519f1503d83f
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001140361-25-028198.hdr.sgml**: 20250731

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001140361-25-028198

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: 425

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 1

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20250731

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20250731

**SUBJECT COMPANY**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000018349
- **STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:** NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS [6021]
- **ORGANIZATION NAME:** 02 Finance
- **EIN:** 581134883
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** X1
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 425
- **SEC ACT:** 1934 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 001-10312
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251172668

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 33 W 14TH STREET
- **CITY:** COLUMBUS
- **STATE:** GA
- **ZIP:** 31901
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 7066416500

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 33 W 14TH STREET
- **CITY:** COLUMBUS
- **STATE:** GA
- **ZIP:** 31901

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** CB&T BANCSHARES INC
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19890912
**FILED BY**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000018349
- **STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:** NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS [6021]
- **ORGANIZATION NAME:** 02 Finance
- **EIN:** 581134883
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** X1
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 1231

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** 425

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 33 W 14TH STREET
- **CITY:** COLUMBUS
- **STATE:** GA
- **ZIP:** 31901
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 7066416500

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** 33 W 14TH STREET
- **CITY:** COLUMBUS
- **STATE:** GA
- **ZIP:** 31901

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** CB&T BANCSHARES INC
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19890912

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Filed by Synovus Financial Corp.

pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933

and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12

under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Subject Companies:

Synovus Financial Corp.

Commission File No.: 001-10312

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.

Commission File No.: 000-31225

Date: July 31, 2025

[*The following joint video recording of the Pinnacle and Synovus chief executive officers was made available by Synovus Financial Corp. on July 31, 2025.]*

** 

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**Terry Turner:** Hello, I'm Terry Turner, President of Pinnacle Financial Partners.

**Kevin Blair:** And I'm Kevin Blair, the Chairman, CEO, and President of Synovus Financial.

**Terry Turner:** We thought it'd be good after having made the announcement, after having a little time to speak to people and understand where people are and so forth to come back and talk a little bit about what we're learning, what we're seeing, and where we're going and so forth.

Kevin it's been fun to me to sort of talk and listen to people anytime you have a transaction. Both of our companies, you know, there's some emotion around it – hey, what am I gonna lose and all that sort of stuff, but really the overwhelming sentiment of it all has been, man, this is a good thing, this is a positive thing, we are excited to see it go forward in this way. And so, anyway, I've been encouraged by both Synovus and Pinnacle associates.

**Kevin Blair:** It has been great Terry to get texts and talk to team members and the first thing that comes out is we are way may more similar than we are different. We both care about team members, we care about our clients, we care about the communities and the scores prove it out. When our clients tell us we are doing well, you guys are number four in net promoter score of the top 50, we're number six. Team member engagement number one, we are number two. It allows us to come together with some common ambitions and common goals and I think that's what gets people excited because everybody wants to know, can you bring two companies together and have one plus one equals more than two? And I think they believe we can, and I know we can.

**Terry Turner:** Yeah and Kevin, you used a really important word there which is ambition. You know when we started this company it was a luxurious thing because we got to start with a clean sheet of paper, right? And so build everything like we wanted it, but the vision, which was the ambition, was to build the best financial services firm and the best place to work. Man, I don't think I started a meeting without saying that this is what we agreed to and this is what we are trying to do and to see how that propels a company is what lights me up about what we are doing here. Man, you put these companies together that are so similar, to your point, it's all based on the associate engagement, the client experience, and turn that into total shareholder returns. Man, putting these things together it is fuel here. It's an unbelievable idea, I get excited every time I think about it.

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**Kevin Blair:** Tremendous amount of energy and you said we are out there talking about the future and the thing I know is that our team members are going to have to continue to execute for the next five to six months. We have, you know, to get this thing approved by our regulators and that's probably going to be first quarter of next year. I know our team and your team are going to be working on an integration plans to make that as smooth as possible, but as you and I were talking about earlier it's so important to keep the momentum going with our clients, with our growth, because when we get to the end of the year and we are springing across that line, it will make it a whole lot easier to bring everyone together.

**Terry Turner:** Yeah I think it's really important. I just spent time talking about all the growth we are going to create, but if we stumble across this finish line that's not gonna be good. What we need to do is spring across this finish line so that we've got momentum to accomplish what we know we can do in the future here.

**Kevin Blair:** Look I am so excited about coming together with you guys as I've told you in the past, we've tried to emulate a lot of what you do at Pinnacle at Synovus, and I hope that you find that we do a lot of great things at Synovus that you'll be able to leverage with your teams. I think it's going to be a great partnership and I'm looking forward to getting started with it.

**Terry Turner:** Same here. Appreciate you.

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#### Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of, and subject to the protections of, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction between Synovus Financial Corp. ("Synovus") and Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. ("Pinnacle"), including future financial and operating results (including the anticipated impact of the proposed transaction on Synovus' and Pinnacle's respective earnings and tangible book value), statements related to the expected timing of the completion of the proposed transaction, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, and other statements that are not historical facts. You can identify these forward-looking statements through the use of words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "may," "will," "assumes," "should," "predicts," "could," "would," "intends," "targets," "estimates," "projects," "plans," "potential" and other similar words and expressions of the future or otherwise regarding the outlook for Synovus', Pinnacle's or combined company's future businesses and financial performance and/or the performance of the banking industry and economy in general.

Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Synovus, Pinnacle or the combined company to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the information known to, and current beliefs and expectations of, Synovus or Pinnacle and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements in this communication. Many of these factors are beyond Synovus', Pinnacle's or the combined company's ability to control or predict. These factors include, among others, (1) the risk that the cost savings and synergies from the proposed transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer than anticipated to be realized, (2) disruption to Synovus' business and to Pinnacle's business as a result of the announcement and pendency of the proposed transaction, (3) the risk that the integration of Pinnacle's and Synovus' respective businesses and operations will be materially delayed or will be more costly or difficult than expected, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (4) the failure to obtain the necessary approvals by the shareholders of Synovus or Pinnacle, (5) the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and charges related to the transaction, (6) the ability by each of Synovus and Pinnacle to obtain required governmental approvals of the proposed transaction on the timeline expected, or at all, and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company after the closing of the proposed transaction or adversely affect the expected benefits of the proposed transaction, (7) reputational risk and the reaction of each company's customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners to the proposed transaction, (8) the failure of the closing conditions in the merger agreement to be satisfied, or any unexpected delay in closing the proposed transaction or the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, (9) the dilution caused by the issuance of shares of the combined company's common stock in the transaction, (10) the possibility that the proposed transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (11) risks related to management and oversight of the expanded business and operations of the combined company following the closing of the proposed transaction, (12) the possibility the combined company is subject to additional regulatory requirements as a result of the proposed transaction or expansion of the combined company's business operations following the proposed transaction, (13) the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings or governmental inquiries or investigations that may be currently pending or later instituted against Synovus, Pinnacle or the combined company and (14) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and other factors that may affect future results of Synovus and Pinnacle including changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; and capital management activities. Additional factors which could affect future results of Synovus and Pinnacle can be found in Synovus' or Pinnacle's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including in Synovus' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, under the captions "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors," and Synovus' Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and Pinnacle's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, under the captions "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors," and in Pinnacle's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date that they are made. Synovus and Pinnacle do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as otherwise may be required by law.

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#### Important Information About the Merger and Where to Find It

Steel Newco Inc. ("Newco") intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC to register the shares of Newco common stock that will be issued to Pinnacle shareholders and Synovus shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement will include a joint proxy statement of Synovus and Pinnacle that also constitutes a prospectus of Newco. The definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to the shareholders of each of Synovus and Pinnacle in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE (AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE INTO THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS) BECAUSE SUCH DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by Synovus, Pinnacle or Newco through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting the investor relations department of Synovus or Pinnacle at:

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| Synovus Financial Corp. | Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. |
| 33 West 14th Street | 21 Platform Way South |
| Columbus, GA 31901 | Nashville, TN 37203 |
| Attention: Investor Relations | Attention: Investor Relations |
| InvestorRelations@synovus.com<br> (706) 641-6500 | investor.relations@pnfp.com<br> (615) 743-8219 |

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**Before making any voting or investment decision, investors and security holders of Synovus and Pinnacle are urged to read carefully the entire registration statement and joint proxy statement/prospectus when they become available, including any amendments thereto, because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction. Free copies of these documents may be obtained as described above.**

#### Participants in Solicitation

Synovus and Pinnacle and their respective directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Synovus' shareholders and Pinnacle's shareholders in respect of the proposed transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information regarding Synovus' directors and executive officers is available in Synovus' proxy statement for its 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, filed with the SEC on March 12, 2025 (and available at <u>https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000018349/000001834925000057/syn-20250312.htm</u>) (the "Synovus 2025 Proxy"), under the headings "Corporate Governance and Board Matters," "Director Compensation," "Proposal 1 Election of Directors," "Executive Officers," "Stock Ownership of Directors and Named Executive Officers," "Executive Compensation," "Compensation and Human Capital Committee Report," "Summary Compensation Table," and "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions," and in Synovus' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2025 (and available at <u>https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000018349/000001834925000049/syn-20241231.htm</u>), and in other documents subsequently filed by Synovus with the SEC, which can be obtained free of charge through the website maintained by the SEC at <u>http://www.sec.gov</u>. Any changes in the holdings of Synovus' securities by Synovus' directors or executive officers from the amounts described in the Synovus 2025 Proxy have been or will be reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 3 or on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC subsequent to the filing date of the Synovus 2025 Proxy and are available at the SEC's website at <u>www.sec.gov</u>. Information regarding Pinnacle's directors and executive officers is available in Pinnacle's proxy statement for its 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2025 (and available at <u>https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1115055/000111505525000063/pnfp-20250303.htm</u>) (the "Pinnacle 2025 Proxy"), under the headings "Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance," "Proposal 1 Election of Directors," "Information About Our Executive Officers," "Executive Compensation," "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management," and "Certain Relationships and Related Transactions," and in Pinnacle's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 25, 2025 (and available at <u>https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1115055/000111505525000042/pnfp-20241231.htm</u>), and in other documents subsequently filed by Pinnacle with the SEC, which can be obtained free of charge through the website maintained by the SEC at <u>http://www.sec.gov</u>. Any changes in the holdings of Pinnacle's securities by Pinnacle's directors or executive officers from the amounts described in the Pinnacle 2025 Proxy have been or will be reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 3 or on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC subsequent to the filing date of the Pinnacle 2025 Proxy and are available at the SEC's website at <u>www.sec.gov</u>. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC.

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#### No Offer or Solicitation

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. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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