O.C.G.A. § 7-1-628.2

Interstate merger transactions between out-of-state banks and Georgia banks including Georgia state banks shall be permitted provided that the applicable conditions, approvals, and filing requirements are met by participating banks and bank holding companies. The approval procedure for mergers involving banks having offices located only in this state are governed by Part 14 of this article. To the extent a bank participating in a merger is owned or controlled by a bank holding company, the provisions of Part 19 of this article shall also apply to the transaction.