UPDATE: First Advantage Bank to Go Private

The board of directors for First Advantage Bancorp

, the holding company for Clarksville-based First Advantage Bank, has approved a move to leave the NASDAQ Stock Market and take the bank private. The organization will utilize SecondMarket, the leading alternative to the public markets, to facilitate stock transactions and shareholder communications. The company expects the move to create more shareholder value, allow the management team to focus on strategic plans for ongoing growth, and dramatically reduce its administrative costs. "There are many benefits to taking our bank private, and all of them support the strategic goals and vision that we have for the future," said First Advantage Bank CEO Earl Bradley. "We have determined, after several years of public trading, that the public stock markets are not ideal for smaller institutions with lower trading volumes. This allows us to maintain all the characteristics of a community bank and give investors the ability to buy and sell shares. As a private institution, we can better focus on our long-term initiatives and growth in our local markets." Another benefit to the move, said Bradley, is eliminating the ongoing administrative burden and the high costs that public companies incur.