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CEO Scott Kisting says the Spokane, Wash., which recently agreed to buy the $1.2 billion-asset PremierWest, realizes the value of scale. AmericanWest will still look at banks of different sizes, but it now prefers bigger deals.
October 31 -
The third quarter had fewer deals compared to the second quarter, but three fundamental attributes of normalized M&A appeared: bigger players, shorter regulatory approvals times and interest from more buyers.
October 10 -
BEO Bancorp in Heppner, Ore., has agreed to buy Bank Reale, in Pasco, Wash. A purchase price for the cash-and-stock deal was not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.
October 3
AmericanWest Bank in Spokane, Wash., has
The deal, announced Wednesday, would be AmericanWest's fourth whole-bank acquisition in California and eighth overall since 2011. It would give the $4 billion-asset AmericanWest an additional four branches in greater Sacramento, an area where it has been looking to expand.
AmericanWest operates 94 branches in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and California, including several in the greater Sacramento area.
"It is exciting to bring together two like-minded banks with an eye toward continued growth in Sacramento and throughout the West," Scott A. Kisting, the bank's chairman and chief executive, said in a news release Wednesday.
Sandler O'Neill & Partners advised Greater Sacramento Bancorp, Bank of Sacramento's parent company, in the deal, while King, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner served as legal counsel. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as legal counsel to AmericanWest.
The sale is expected to close in the first half of next year.
