Columbia Banking System, Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of Intermountain Community Bancorp, the parent company of Panhandle State Bank, effective November 1, 2014. Immediately following completion of the acquisition, Panhandle State Bank was merged with and into Columbia’s wholly owned subsidiary, Columbia State Bank.
With this transaction, which was completed in just over three months since the merger agreement was signed, Columbia’s total assets are approximately $8.5 billion, with over 150 branches throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Columbia also appointed Ford Elsaesser, the former chair of Intermountain, to serve on Columbia’s board and the board of Columbia State Bank.
Melanie J. Dressel, president and chief executive officer of Columbia, said, “We are delighted to welcome the customers, employees, and shareholders of Intermountain to Columbia. This acquisition marks our entry into the Idaho market and furthers our long stated objective of being the leading Pacific Northwest regional community bank. The complementary aspects of the companies’ businesses, including customer focus, business orientation and compatibility of values and operating styles, make the merger a natural fit.”
Columbia will separately announce, when the information is available, the final results of the merger consideration elected to be received by former Intermountain shareholders.
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. acted as financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal counsel to Columbia. Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. acted as financial advisor and Graham & Dunn PC acted as legal counsel to Intermountain.
About Columbia
Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, Columbia Banking System, Inc. is the holding Company of Columbia State Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service commercial bank. For the eighth consecutive year, the bank was named in 2014 as one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s “Washington’s Best Workplaces.” More information about Columbia can be found on its website at www.columbiabank.com.
