Santa Rosa's AltaPacific Bank to merge with Banner Bank of Washington state

Walla Walla, Washington-based Banner Bank’s holding company Banner Corporation announced it will acquire AltaPacific Bancorp, the Santa Rosa-based parent of AltaPacific Bank, which has six locations throughout California, including in Santa Rosa.

A joint statement said the companies had entered into a definitive agreement and AltaPacific Bank will merge into Banner Bank. The deal, valued at $87.4 million, is expected to close in the fourth quarter, depending on typical conditions.

“AltaPacific Bank is a respected business-focused bank and we consider it a compliment they chose us as their merger partner,” Mark Grescovich, president and CEO of Banner Bank, said in the announcement.

“Today’s banking environment is challenging for small community banks, even strong ones like ours,” said Charles O. Hall, CEO at AltaPacific Bank in a statement. “Choosing to merge with Banner Bank is a great win-win for our customers and employees.”

The deal “is intended to increase Banner’s presence and density in its existing California market,” the news release said.

The merger agreement specifies AltaPacific shareholders will receive 0.27 shares of Banner common stock in exchange for each share of AltaPacific common stock, subject to potential adjustment as provided in the merger agreement. The deal total value is based on the closing price of $54.19 per share of Banner common stock on July 23.

Banner Corporation, which includes Islanders Bank, has total assets of $11.8 billion, and AltaPacific Bancorp has assets of $436 million. The combined company will have approximately $12.2 billion in assets.