Glacier Bancorp has signed a definitive merger agreement with First National Bank & Trust, a community bank based in Powell, Wyoming.
The boards of Glacier and First Company (the bank’s holding company) unanimously approved the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions of closing. The transaction provides for the merger of First Company into Glacier Bancorp, whereupon First National Bank & Trust will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Glacier and continue to operate with its separate identity, bank charter, board of directors and management team.
Under the terms of the deal, Glacier will pay First Company shareholders 100,000 shares of Glacier common stock and $450,000 in cash. Glacier will also contribute $15.3 million in capital to the bank. In addition to the stock and cash payments from Glacier, First Company will also distribute to its shareholders certain out-of-market loan participations and other assets of the holding company not related to its community banking operations. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2009.
Mick Blodnick, CEO of Glacier, said: This is a situation where you had a strong and respected bank that recently experienced difficulties centered around the purchase of out-of-market loan participations. By structuring the deal to distribute those participations to the current owners, we end up with a well-capitalised bank with superior asset quality, a great deposit base, strong customer relationships and a talented management team and staff.
Dick Nelson, president of First National Bank & Trust, said: We benefit from access to Glacier’s products, services and substantial capital resources to fund future growth in our markets. The combination is clearly a win-win for our shareholders, our employees, our communities, and most importantly, our customers.
