Arkansas CDFI strikes deal in home state

Southern Bancorp in Arkadelphia, Ark., has agreed to buy DeWitt First Bankshares in DeWitt, Ark.

The $1.6 billion-asset Southern, a community development financial institution, said it will add three branches when it buys the parent of the $185 million-asset Arkansas County Bank.

Southern, which recently raised $35 million in capital, did not disclose the price of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter.

“We are driven by our mission to increase economic opportunity and build individual net worth through traditional banking products and services combined with financial development offerings such as financial education, credit and homebuyer counseling, and free tax preparation among others,” Darrin Williams, Southern’s CEO, said in a press release Thursday.

Stephens and Friday, Eldredge & Clark advised Southern. Olsen Palmer and Dover Dixon Horne advised DeWitt First.