ATLANTA — Serendipity is how IBT Enterprises CEO Mylle Mangumdescribes the recent merger of IBT Enterprises and Design BuildConcepts.

The two local design/build firms have joined forces in a bid tobetter serve the financial services industry.

“Jim Givan, who is principal at DBC, and I had lunch back inNovember and it is interesting because what really makes successfulacquisitions and mergers is the cultural aspect and the more wetalked about everything from core values and customer orientationto the commitment to quality the more we realized how in sync ourtwo organizations were,” said Mangum. “It is strategically andculturally an excellent match.”

From ground-up and in-store construction to storefront designand branch consulting services, the unified company is designed toappeal to a broader client base.

Mangum says the combination of IBT's expertise in design,construction and consulting for financial services and specialtyretail, and DBC's design/build reputation in financial facilities,creates an organization with a combined heritage and professionalexperience of nearly 50 years.

“What's true for both companies is that our clients haveconsistently been looking for a company to provide the fullspectrum of design, construction and consulting products for alltypes of branch formats and this merger provides just thatservice,” said Mangum.

She adds that with its proven processes for ground-up design andconstruction, DBC will remain the center of integrated, ground-updesign-build services for financial facilities. IBT will continueto specialize in storefront and in-store design/build services andbusiness consulting for financial and specialty retailfacilities.

“It really is a win-win for not just our clients but theemployees as well as our offices are literally within blocks of oneanother,” said Mangum.

The companies' combined portfolio consists of more than 3,700design-build projects ranging from new main offices, branch officesand operations centers, to in-store and storefront design,merchandising, and construction, as well as specialty retail.

The IBT and DBC offices will remain at their current locationsin Atlanta. From a corporate structure perspective, DBC will beintegrated under IBT Holdings, which also includes IBT Enterprises,LLC and International Banking Technologies, a real estate licensingdivision. Jim Givan will remain president of DBC. Mylle Mangum willremain Chairman/CEO of IBT Holdings as well as CEO of IBTEnterprises, LLC.

“Both organizations share a mutual commitment to quality,innovation and exceeding customer expectations,” said Givan. “Inaddition to providing unparalleled services and expertise to thefinancial services industry, the merger offers all employees achance to grow and be part of an exciting future.”

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