BFST Business First Bancshares

Business First Bancshares, Inc., completes acquisition of Oakwood Bancshares, Inc.

Business First Bancshares, Inc., completes acquisition of Oakwood Bancshares, Inc.

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Business First) (Nasdaq: BFST), the holding company for b1BANK, has completed its acquisition of Oakwood Bancshares, Inc. (Oakwood), the holding company for Oakwood Bank. The acquisition became effective Oct. 1, 2024.

“b1 has been serving Dallas-Fort Worth market businesses with our boutique style banking for a number of years, as has Oakwood,” said Jude Melville, chairman, president and CEO of Business First and b1BANK. “This partnership accelerates the meaningfulness we can deliver as we impact small and growing companies in one of our country’s most vibrant markets.”

With the completion of the acquisition, b1BANK has approximately $7.6 billion in assets, with $5.9 billion in loans and $6.3 billion in deposits and 55 full-service Banking Centers and two Loan Production Offices across Louisiana and Texas. Roy J. Salley, chairman and chief executive officer of Oakwood Bank, joins b1BANK as regional chairman, Dallas, and William G. Hall, chairman of Oakwood Bancshares, Inc., will join the boards of directors of Business First and b1BANK.

Raymond James & Associates, Inc. rendered a fairness opinion to Business First, and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP served as legal counsel to Business First. Stephens Inc. served as financial advisor to Oakwood, and Norton Rose Fulbright US, LLP served as legal counsel to Oakwood.

About Business First Bancshares, Inc.

As of June 30, 2024, Business First Bancshares, Inc., (Nasdaq: BFST) through its banking subsidiary b1BANK and after giving effect to the acquisition of Oakwood Bancshares, Inc., has approximately $7.6 billion in assets, $6.1 billion in assets under management through b1BANK’s affiliate Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC (SSW) (excludes $0.9 billion of b1BANK assets managed by SSW) and operates Banking Centers and Loan Production Offices in markets across Louisiana and the Dallas and Houston, Texas areas, providing commercial and personal banking products and services. Commercial banking services include commercial loans and letters of credit, working capital lines and equipment financing, and treasury management services. b1BANK was awarded #1 Best-In-State Bank, Louisiana, by Forbes and Statista, and is a multiyear winner of American Banker’s “Best Banks to Work For.” Visit b1BANK.com for more information.

Additional Information

For additional information on Business First, you may obtain Business First’s reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) free of charge by using the SEC’s EDGAR service on the SEC’s website at or by contacting the SEC for further information at 1-800-SEC-0330. Alternatively, these documents can be obtained free of charge from Business First by directing a request to: Business First Bancshares, Inc., 500 Laurel Street, Suite 100, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70801, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

Misty Albrecht

b1BANK

225.286.7879



EN
01/10/2024

Underlying

To request access to management, click here to engage with our
partner Phoenix-IR's CorporateAccessNetwork.com

Reports on Business First Bancshares

 PRESS RELEASE

b1BANK Announces Senna Bayasgalan as Chief Marketing Officer

b1BANK Announces Senna Bayasgalan as Chief Marketing Officer BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- b1BANK, announces the appointment of Senna Bayasgalan as chief marketing officer. Bayasgalan will lead brand and marketing technology initiatives to support the banks’ growth and deepen client relationships. Bayasgalan has over 16 years of experience in marketing leadership, international brand building, communications and customer acquisition across private capital, technology and media industries.  “We are diligent about the culture we are building, and as a result, fortunat...

 PRESS RELEASE

Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Fisca...

Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2024 and Q4 2024 BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. Business First reported net income available to common shareholders of $15.1 million or $0.51 per diluted common share, decreases of $1.4 million and $0.14, respectively, compared to the linked quarter ended September 30, 2024. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the quarte...

 PRESS RELEASE

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings...

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFST) (Business First), the parent company of b1BANK, announced it is scheduled to release fourth quarter 2024 earnings after market close on Thurs., Jan. 23, 2025. Executive management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss results on the same day (Thurs., Jan. 23, 2025) at 4:00 p.m. CDT. Interested parties may attend the call by dialing toll-free 1-800-715-9871 (North America only...

 PRESS RELEASE

b1BANK Promotes Jerry Vascocu to President

b1BANK Promotes Jerry Vascocu to President BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- b1BANK, the banking subsidiary of Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFST), announced today that N. Jerome “Jerry” Vascocu Jr. will be the bank’s new president, reporting to Jude Melville, who will retain the title of chairman and CEO. Vascocu, who joined b1BANK in 2022 as chief administrative officer, oversees the coordination of banking, operations, risk and credit functions for the bank. He has also led several functions for the bank including correspondent banking, wealth management, ...

 PRESS RELEASE

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2024 Earnings ...

Business First Bancshares, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Release Date and Conference Call BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFST), the parent company of b1BANK, announced that it is scheduled to release third quarter 2024 earnings after market close on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. Executive management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss results on the same day (Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024) at 4:00 p.m. CDT. Interested parties may attend the call by dialing toll-free 1-800-715-9871 (North America only), confere...

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch