Enterprise First Bancshares, Inc. Announce Acquisition of Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC Nasdaq:BFST
BATON ROUGE, La., March 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Business First Bancshares, Inc. (Business First) (NASDAQ: BFST), the holding company of b1BANK, and Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC (SSW) jointly announced today the signing of a final agreement according to which b1BANK SSW takes over. SSW is a registered investment advisor specializing in managing investment portfolios for corporations, foundations and individuals. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
“B1BANK has been working closely with SSW since the day we chartered 15 years ago. We value the quantifiable impact they have had on managing our investment portfolio, respect the sophistication of their skills as specialists, and trust them as people, ”said Jude Melville, President and CEO of b1BANK. “If we bring SSW under the b1BANK umbrella, we will be able to expand the range of products and services that we offer through our Financial Institutions Group, while at the same time strengthening the securities services that we offer our individual customers.”
SSW was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi. The company offers investment advisory services that include discretionary and non-discretionary management of investment portfolios for a wide variety of clients. As of December 31, 2020, SSW had $ 3.5 billion under management, while b1BANK had $ 235 million under management through its Wealth Solutions Division. After completion of the transaction, b1BANK expects to consolidate its Wealth Solutions division with SSW and to continue operating SSW as a subsidiary of b1BANK.
“For the past 25 years, SSW has been committed to the premise that customer relationships and performance, not transactions, are the ultimate goals,” said Will Johnson, SSW principal. “B1BANK and SSW share similar values, including a personalized, structured style for portfolio management and innovative methods of product development,” said Frank W. Smith, III, SSW Principal. “This merger gives both SSW and b1BANK teams more options to customize customer service,” said Smith.
Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford, LLP acted as legal advisors to B1BANK while Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, PLLC advised SSW.
About Business First Bancshares, Inc.
Business First Bancshares, Inc., through its banking subsidiary b1BANK, formerly known as Business First Bank, operates 43 banking centers in markets across Louisiana and the Dallas, Texas area. B1BANK offers small and medium-sized companies as well as their owners and employees services in the field of commercial banking and personal banking, treasury management and asset solutions. Visit www.b1BANK.com for more information. Business First common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BFST”.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may not be based on historical facts and may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by reference to future periods. or by using forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “foresee,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “could,” or “intend,” “future or.” conditional tenses and variations or negatives of such terms. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and Business First assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements as a result of new information in the future, developments or otherwise.
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