Eagle Bancorp Montana in Helena is acquiring First Community Bancorp in Glasgow, Montana, in a cash-and-stock deal that would mark its fourth acquisition of a fellow Montana bank since 2018.
Eagle said Friday that it would pay $41.3 million for First Community. It would the $1.4 billion-asset Eagle’s biggest acquisition by price and the target’s assets.
First Community is the largest bank headquartered in northeast Montana, with $374 million of assets. It has two mortgage production offices and nine branches. Both Eagle and First Community are prominent agriculture lenders.
Eagle, the fourth-largest banking company based in Montana, would have more than $1.7 billion of assets with the acquisition. It would gain $307 million of deposits and $220 million of loans, based on June 30 data. Eagle’s bank unit, Opportunity Bank of Montana, would have 32 retail branches across the state.
“This transaction expands our presence across the state of Montana and builds on our reputation as an experienced and preferred agricultural lender,” Eagle President and CEO Peter Johnson said in a press release.
Sam Waters, chairman and president of First Community, plans to join the boards of Eagle and Opportunity Bank of Montana. Kris Simensen, CEO of First Community’s bank unit, would serve as Eagle’s northeast Montana market president.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
