Business First Bancshares, the holding company for b1BANK, agreed to acquire Oakwood Bancshares, a bank holding company, for $86m. “Expansion in the Dallas market has been a successful focus of b1BANK for a number of years. We believe the proposed transaction with Oakwood is an effective and efficient way to deepen our customer, employee, and shareholder bases in what is arguably one of America’s strongest markets. Oakwood and b1 share similar community-oriented cultures and values and we look forward to the combination of our respective franchises strengthening our North Texas platform,” Jude Melville, Business First Acting Chairman, President and CEO.