Done deal: Baton Rouge-based Business First Bancshares Inc., holding company of Business First Bank, has completed its acquisition of American Gateway Financial Corp., the holding company of American Gateway Bank. The combined company, which is operating as Business First Bank, begins operations with total assets of about $1.1 billion, total gross loans of around $730 million and total deposits of roughly $918 million—making it the largest locally headquartered community bank, bank officials say.
Free falling: Louisiana lost another five active oil and gas exploration rigs this week, according to Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes, bringing the total down to 67. That’s down from 100 rigs in the state just one month ago. Of the 67 rigs in Louisiana, 28 are located in offshore waters, 24 are in northern Louisiana, 11 are in south Louisiana and four are located in inshore waters. The U.S. oil and natural gas rig count dropped by 20 on the week to 1,028. Of them, 802 rigs were seeking oil and 222 exploring for natural gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,818 rigs were active.
Tigers to the top: Nine LSU teams that are in season head into Easter weekend ranked among the Top 25 in the nation, led by the baseball and softball teams, which are ranked as high as No. 2 nationally, LSU announced today. Of the nine teams, six are ranked in the Top 10, which in addition to baseball and softball include gymnastics and men’s track at No. 4 along with men’s and women’s golf at No. 6. LSU has more details.
Editor’s note: In observation of the Good Friday holiday, the offices of Louisiana Business Inc. will be closed and Daily Report will not be published. Daily Report will return on Monday morning. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.
