First Paragould to enter Tennessee with Cumberland Bancshares deal

First Paragould Bankshares in Paragould, Arkansas, has agreed to buy Cumberland Bancshares in Hartsville, Tennessee.

The $1.9 billion-asset First Paragould said in a press release Tuesday that it expects to complete the deal for the $290 million-asset parent of Citizens Bank in the fourth quarter. It did not disclose the price of the deal.

First Paragould will gain its first branches in Tennessee with the purchase.

“We are enthusiastic about entering the Tennessee state banking market and impressed with Citizens’ top-15 ranked share of the Sumner County deposit market, an attractive, fast-growing market” in the Nashville area, William Brewer, First Paragould’s chairman and CEO, said in the release.

Todd Austin, Citizens Bank’s president and CEO, would become a market president at First Paragould after the deal closes.

Fenimore, Kay, Harrison & Ford advised First Paragould. Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz and Olsen Palmer advised Cumberland.

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