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): January 6, 2016

CONGAREE BANCSHARES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(803) 794-2265

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(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 (see General Instruction A.2 below):

Item 8.01. Other Events

On January 6, 2016, Carolina Financial Corporation, the parent company of CresCom Bank, and Congaree Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Congaree State Bank, issued a joint press release announcing the signing of a definitive agreement, the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which Carolina Financial Corporation will acquire Congaree Bancshares, Inc. in a cash and stock transaction with a total current value of approximately $16.278 million.

The complete text of the joint press release is attached to this report as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

Additional Information About the Acquisition and Where to Find It

Carolina Financial Corporation intends to file relevant documents concerning the transaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including a registration statement on Form S-4 which will include a proxy statement/prospectus.  Shareholders of Congaree Bancshares, Inc. will be able to obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings by Carolina Financial Corporation, at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s internet site (http://www.sec.gov).  Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that will be incorporated by reference in the proxy statement/ prospectus can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to: Carolina Financial Corporation, 288 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401, Attention: William A. Gehman, III, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer or Congaree Bancshares, Inc., 1219 Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce, SC 29033, Attention: Charlie Lovering, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

SHAREHOLDERS OF CONGAREE BANCSHARES, INC. ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WHEN THEY ARE FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

The directors and executive officers of Congaree Bancshares, Inc. and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the company’s shareholders in connection with the proposed acquisition.  Information regarding Congaree Bancshares, Inc.’s directors and executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement (form type DEF 14A) and additional definitive proxy soliciting materials filed with the SEC for Congaree’s 2015 annual shareholder meeting.  Other information regarding the participants in the Congaree Bancshares, Inc. 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this Current Report contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to future plans and expectations, and are thus prospective.  Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements with respect to our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts, and other statements identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” and “projects,” as well as similar expressions.  Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate.  Therefore, we can give no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized.  The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be construed as a representation by our company or any person that the future events, plans, or expectations contemplated by our company will be achieved.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: (1) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; (2) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations may be different than expected resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in the credit quality or a reduced demand for credit, including the resultant effect on the company’s loan portfolio and allowance for loan losses; (3) the rate of delinquencies and amounts of charge-offs, the level of allowance for loan loss, the rates of loan growth, or adverse changes in asset quality in our loan portfolio, which may result in increased credit risk-related losses and expenses; (4) the risk that the preliminary financial information reported herein and our current preliminary analysis will be different when our review is finalized; (5) changes in the U.S. legal and regulatory framework; and (6) adverse conditions in the stock market, the public debt market and other capital markets (including changes in interest rate conditions) could have a negative impact on the company.  Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).  All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the company or any person acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by the cautionary statements above.  We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. 

SIGNATURES

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.

EXHIBIT INDEX