Chambers' River Town Transaction Tops $17M

The $17 million cash deal for the parent company of Dardanelle’s River Town Bank is expected to close by the end of July.

The acquisition of Dardanelle Bankshares Inc. and its $134 million-asset bank by Chambers Bancshares Inc. of Danville will leave only one locally headquartered lender in Yell County: Chambers Bank.

The purchase of River Town will further consolidate the dominant market position of Danville’s $844 million-asset Chambers Bank.

The lender held a 65.8% slice of Yell County’s $419 million in deposits as of mid-2018.

Chambers Bank’s $276 million in deposits was trailed by River Town at nearly $62.6 million (14.9%).

The addition of River Town would push Chambers’ share of Yell County deposits to more than 80 percent and reduce the competitive field of lenders to three.

Remaining will be Conway’s Centennial Bank at almost $46.6 million in deposits (11.1%) and Russellville’s First State Bank at about $34.3 million (8.2%).

Plans call for River Town to operate as a separate bank until it is merged with Chambers Bank by year’s end.

Originally founded in 1934 as Bank of Dardanelle, the bank was rebranded as River Town in 2006.

The combined stakes of the four biggest shareholders in Dardanelle Bank-shares top 83%.

The value of those holdings breaks down like this:

• William and Barbara Bullock of Dardanelle, 37.86% worth $6.4 million.
• Bunny Bullock of Russellville, 18.33% worth $3.1 million
• Dee Berryhill Longenbaugh Abrams of Poteau, Oklahoma, 14.24% worth $2.4 million.
• Berryhill Family Investments Ltd. of Dardanelle, led by Thomas Berryhill, 12.96% worth $2.2 million.

River Town Bank, Dardanelle
Total Assets: $134.5 million
Net Income: $151,000
Staff: 49
Eight full-service locations: Two each in Dardanelle and Russellville, and one each in Atkins, Conway, Danville and Dover
(As of March 31, 2019)

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Dollars in thousands except where noted.