Kentucky's Classic Bancshares has a deal to buy Citizens Bank for $4.5 million in cash.
Classic, based in Ashland, is the parent of $141 million-asset Classic Bank. The company has done business in the community since 1910, when it was known as Ashland Federal Savings and Loan Association.
Citizens, with $15 million of assets, operates from a single office in Grayson, 25 miles from Classic's headquarters.
Terms of the agreement call for Citizens shareholders to receive $75 for each share of eight-year-old Citizens stock they own. It is expected to close during the second quarter.
The deal "enhances our deposit-gathering capabilities and lending operations in the Interstate 64 corridor," said David B. Barbour, Classic's president and chief executive officer.