There are no publicly traded companies headquartered in Central Louisiana. That may change.
The holding company for Alexandra-based Red River Bank has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its stock.
Red River Bancshares Inc. has applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "RRBI."
An estimated price per share in the IPO was not included in the S-1 form filed with the SEC on Wednesday. A proposed maximum offering of $30 million was listed. The information provided in the S-1 filing is preliminary and could change.
An IPO is the first sale of stock to the public in a previously privately held company. To this point, shares in Red River Bancshares have only been sold privately.
According to the S-1 filing, Red River Bancshares currently has more than 500 shareholders. The company has raised more than $40 million in five previous private stock offerings. A portion of the shares in the IPO will be issued and sold by the company and a portion will be sold by certain shareholders.
Pineville-based Cleco Corp. was Central Louisiana's only publicly traded company, but a private investment group bought out shareholders in 2016.
According to the S-1 filing, Red River Bancshares is proceeding with the IPO "because we believe that it will allow us to better execute our growth strategy." Proceeds will be used for "general corporate purposes and investment" in Red River Bank, which could include acquisition of other financial institutions and repayment of debt.
Red River Bank marked its 20th anniversary in January. As of December, it was the fifth-largest financial institution headquartered in Louisiana based on assets, with total assets of $1.86 billion, and the eighth-largest based on deposits.
The bank operates 23 banking centers in the state, in markets including Alexandria, Shreveport, Lake Charles and Baton Rouge. Earlier this year, President and CEO Blake Chatelain said he envisioned Red River Bank expanding into every major market in Louisiana.