BUZZ-Cornerstone Community Bancorp soars on $65 mln buyout deal with Plumas Bancorp

** Shares of community lender Cornerstone Community Bancorp CRSB.PK jump 36.8% to $37.81

** Plumas Bancorp PLBC.O will buy Red Bluff, California-based Cornerstone in a $64.6 mln cash-and-stock deal, the companies say

** The deal will create a combined bank with $2.3 bln in assets having 19 branches throughout Northern California and Western Nevada

** The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025, values Cornerstone at $41.31/shr and represents a 49.5% premium to its last close

** Transaction expected to boost PLBC's earnings per share by 9% in 2025 and 23% in 2026

** Raymond James and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton advised Plumas, while Performance Trust Capital Partners and Gary Steven Findley & Associates advised Cornerstone

** CRSB stock slipped 7.5% in 2024