BATON ROUGE, La., March 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investar Holding Corporation (“Investar”) (NASDAQ:ISTR),
the parent holding company of Investar Bank, today announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of $18.6 million in
Fixed-to-Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”).
The Notes will initially bear interest at 6.00% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears commencing on
September 30, 2017, with interest commencing on the issue date, to, but excluding, March 30, 2022, and, thereafter, payable
quarterly in arrears, at an annual floating rate equal to three-month LIBOR (but not less than zero) as determined for the
applicable quarterly period, plus 3.945%. The Notes will mature on March 30, 2027. The Notes were offered to the public at par.
Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. served as the sole book-running manager for the Notes offering. Investar
intends to use the net proceeds of the Notes offering to fund a portion of the purchase price of its recently announced proposed
merger transaction with Citizens Bancshares, Inc. and for general corporate purposes, including investments in Investar Bank.
This press release will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will there
be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Registration statements relating to these securities
have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are effective, and the offering is being made only by means of a
prospectus. A written prospectus for this offering may be obtained without charge by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, or may be obtained from Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P., 1251 Avenue of the
Americas, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10020, Attn: Syndicate Operations, Telephone Number: 1-866-805-4128.
About Investar
Investar Holding Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, provides full banking services, excluding
trust services, through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Investar Bank, a state chartered bank. Investar’s primary market
is South Louisiana and it currently operates 10 full service banking offices located throughout its market. At December 31, 2016,
Investar had 152 full-time equivalent employees.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions about our business that are
subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those described in
this press release. You should not rely on forward-looking statements as a prediction of future events.
Additional information regarding factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
discussed in any forward-looking statements are described in reports and registration statements we file with the SEC, including
our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, copies of which are
available on Investar’s internet website http://www.investarbank.com.
Investar disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or any changes in events, conditions
or circumstances upon which any forward-looking statement may be based except as required by law.
Contact: Investar Holding Corporation Chris Hufft Chief Financial Officer (225) 227-2215 Chris.Hufft@investarbank.com
