NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 2:05 PM ET — Market closed
- Nasdaq says PNFP and PNFPP are slated for trading suspension tied to the Synovus deal
- Pinnacle shares last closed at $95.41, down 2.6%, in the final session of 2025
- Investors are watching for the NYSE debut and the first post-close earnings update later this month
Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (PNFP) shares are set to be suspended from trading effective Jan. 2 as the bank’s merger with Synovus Financial Corp. becomes effective at 11:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 1, Nasdaq said in a corporate actions alert. Nasdaq said Pinnacle common shareholders will receive one share of Steel Newco Inc. (to be renamed Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.) for each Pinnacle share, while Pinnacle’s depositary shares (PNFPP) will convert into a new depositary security tied to preferred stock.
The timing matters now because the deal forces a reset for investors who hold the legacy Nasdaq-listed stock ahead of a change in where the shares trade. With U.S. markets shut Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday, the last chance to trade the old Pinnacle shares was the final session of 2025.
A joint proxy statement said Synovus shareholders will receive 0.5237 shares of the new holding company for each Synovus share, while Pinnacle shareholders receive their new shares on a one-for-one basis. The filing said the new company is slated to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PNFP, and the existing Pinnacle and Synovus listings will be delisted after the merger.
Pinnacle shares last closed down 2.6% at $95.41 on Dec. 31, after trading between $95.00 and $98.47, with about 8.5 million shares traded, according to market data. Synovus ended that session down 2.6% at $50.05.
The move came as Wall Street ended 2025 with declines in thin trading, a Reuters market wrap showed. Bank stocks also softened, with the KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Total Return Index down about 1% on Dec. 31.
Synovus CEO Kevin Blair said federal approval brought the two banks “another step closer” to combining, as the companies pointed to a merged firm with about $116 billion in assets. They also said full system and brand conversions are expected in the first half of 2027, underscoring that the operational integration will run well beyond the closing date. Pinnacle Financial Partners
The Federal Reserve said it approved Steel Newco’s application to become a bank holding company by merging with Synovus and Pinnacle, a key regulatory step needed to complete the transaction.
Pinnacle and Synovus announced the all-stock deal in July, valuing it at about $8.6 billion at the time, the companies said.
For traders, the focus now shifts to how smoothly the new shares open on the NYSE and whether the combined bank can deliver on near-term expense discipline without weakening credit. Investors in regional banks have been watching how quickly loan growth offsets higher deposit costs — the rates banks pay to keep customer deposits — as the new year begins.
Before the next session, the key swing factor is the first day of trading for the NYSE-listed shares once the Nasdaq suspension takes effect. Deal-driven flows can be choppy around listing changes, especially when merger-arbitrage trades — strategies that try to capture pricing gaps around deal terms — unwind.
Investors also have a fixed date ahead for the next fundamental update: the companies said the newly combined firm plans to release fourth-quarter results for both legacy banks on Jan. 21 after the close, followed by a webcast on Jan. 22.
In the near term, some desks will keep an eye on the $95 area from the last session’s low, the $98.47 high and the round $100 mark once trading resumes under the new listing, even as the merger takes center stage.
The next few sessions will test whether investors treat the combined company as a simple continuation of Pinnacle’s story — or reprice it as a larger regional bank with a different risk, regulation and integration profile.
