BATON ROUGE, La. — Business First Bancshares Inc. has acquired American Planning Corp., a financial consulting firm that has advised community banks since 1972, expanding the advisory capabilities of its Smith Shellnut Wilson subsidiary.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
As part of the acquisition, American Planning CEO T. Jefferson Fair and his team will join Smith Shellnut Wilson, broadening the firm’s services for community banks nationwide. The combined platform will offer advisory services including outsourced chief financial officer support, financial modeling, strategic planning, capital planning, asset and liability management, stock valuations and regulatory consulting.
Business First Bancshares said the acquisition expands Smith Shellnut Wilson’s offerings beyond investment management and asset and liability management to include a broader range of financial and strategic advisory services for community banks.
“Jeff Fair and his team have earned the trust of community bankers over many years, including ours,” said Jude Melville, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Business First Bancshares. “We’ve worked together since our founding twenty years ago, and I have complete confidence that by formally joining forces, we will amplify the positive impact Jeff already has had on the community banking industry.”
Frank W. Smith III, managing director of Smith Shellnut Wilson, said the firms have collaborated for more than 30 years serving community banks and that the acquisition will expand the combined organization’s capabilities.
Fair said American Planning’s expertise in financial and strategic planning complements Smith Shellnut Wilson’s investment management and asset and liability management services.
As of March 31, Business First Bancshares reported $8.9 billion in assets through its banking subsidiary, b1BANK. Smith Shellnut Wilson manages $5.7 billion in client assets, excluding approximately $1 billion in b1BANK assets under management.
More information about Business First Bancshares is available at b1BANK.