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Business First Bancshares, the holding company for Baton Rouge-based b1Bank, has received the green light from federal regulators to complete its $85.7 million acquisition of Texas-based Oakwood Bancshares Inc. and its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Oakwood Bank, the company announced Tuesday evening.
The merger was approved by Oakwood’s shareholders last Tuesday.
When it’s completed, the merger is expected to grow b1Bank’s assets to approximately $7.6 billion, with over $5.9 billion in consolidated total loans. The deal also adds four full-service banking centers to b1Bank’s footprint in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as branches in Snyder and Oakwood, Texas. B1Bank first entered the Dallas market in 2017.
Roy J. Salley, chair and CEO of Oakwood Bank, will join b1Bank as regional chair for Dallas and William G. Hall, chair of Oakwood Bancshares Inc. will be appointed to the boards of Business First and b1Bank.
The merger is expected to be completed on Oct. 1, and remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
The acquisition was announced in late April at a time when many customers were switching to community banks.
In recent years, b1Bank’s holding company has also acquired Pedestal Bancshares Inc., Texas Citizens Bankcorp Inc. and Waterstone LSP.
