In Brief: Peoples BancTrust of Alabama in $20M Deal

An Alabama community bank said it intends to buy a one-branch bank in a neighboring county for about $20 million in cash.

Peoples BancTrust Co., the $350 million-asset parent of Peoples Bank and Trust Co., Selma, announced it will buy $67 million-asset Merchants and Planters BancShares, Montevallo.

The Merchants and Planners branch would become the 17th branch of Peoples Bank and its first in Shelby County.

"With the acquisition of Merchants and Planters, Peoples will have combined assets in excess of $400 million and will be located in three of the top five counties in terms of growth in the state," said Andrew C. Bearden, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Peoples BancTrust. The banks hope to close the deal by the end of the first quarter of 1998.

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