Big business deals

Baton Rouge’s deal landscape in 2025 showed something important: Capital is still moving with confidence. The year brought headline-making acquisitions—like H&E and Amedisys—along with major banking and retail real estate deals that expanded market share and presence across the region. At the same time, a number of significant transactions in tech, consulting and commercial assets kept their terms under wraps, a reminder that not every deal plays out in public view.

$10B
Hut 8’s plan to develop the River Bend artificial intelligence data center campus on 592 acres in West Feliciana Parish marks one of the Capital Region’s most ambitious technology investments to date. The energy infrastructure firm intends to invest up to $10 billion in phase one to build a high-capacity campus capable of supporting next-generation, energy-intensive computing. Construction is underway, with operations targeted for 2027. A key element of the project is Hut 8’s agreement with Entergy Louisiana for 330 megawatts of utility capacity to power 245 megawatts of critical IT load. The campus’s anchor tenant, Fluidstack, is backed by Google through a financial guarantee covering lease and pass-through obligations—an arrangement that signals confidence from a major tech player in the site’s long-term potential.

$5.3B

In June 2025, Herc Rentals Inc. completed its $5.3 billion acquisition of homegrown and publicly traded H&E Rentals after disrupting United Rentals intention to purchase the firm. Under the terms, Herc Rentals acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of H&E’s common stock on a per-share basis for $78.75 in cash and 0.1287 shares of Herc Rentals common stock. Herc is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

$3.3B
In August 2025, UnitedHealth completed its purchase of Amedysis, a Baton Rouge home health and hospice care company founded by William Borne in 1982. Listed on the Nasdaq, it grew to become one of the largest home health providers and second-largest hospice care provider in the U.S. UnitedHealth bought Amedisys for $101 per share and will continue to run the company as a wholly owned subsidiary maintaining offices in Baton Rouge.

$700M

In a deal reportedly worth $700 million, South Carolina-based Hudson Automotive Group acquired All Star Automotive dealerships in the Capital Region. The deal involved 13 dealerships, collision centers, a parts warehouse and a used car superstore.

$83.6M

Investar Bank will grow to more than $4 billion in assets and more than triple its branches in Texas with the acquisition of First National Bank. First National, a subsidiary of Wichita Falls Bancshares Inc., operates seven branches and two mortgage offices in north Texas, with approximately $1.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Wichita Falls shareholders received $7.2 million in cash and 3,955,334 shares of Investar common stock, or $134.67 per share.

$79.9M

Baton Rouge-based Business First Bancshares Inc., the holding company for b1Bank, signed a definitive agreement in July 2025 to acquire Progressive Bancorp Inc. and its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Progressive Bank. Progressive operates nine full-service branches across north Louisiana. As of March 31, the bank had $752 million in total assets, $673 million in total deposits, $583 million in total loans and $65 million in shareholders’ equity. Once completed, the acquisition will increase the total assets of Business First to roughly $8.5 billion with more than $6.6 billion in total loans. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2026, pending approval by regulators and Progressive shareholders.

$81M

Towne Center at Cedar Lodge, a shopping center anchored by Whole Foods Market at the corner of Jefferson Highway and Corporate Boulevard, was acquired by New York shopping center operator DLC Management. Towne Center opened its doors two decades ago and is home to a new Barnes & Noble location.

This story is part of Business Report‘s Capital Assets edition. Get the entire 2026 Capital Assets edition.