Frontier Financial Buying Whidbey Island Bank
Frontier Financial Corp. has acquired Whidbey Island Bank in a move to improve its position in the Northwest area of Washington State. The deal to purchase Whidbey Island Bank will cost Frontier about $191.1 million.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Washington Banking join our organization,” stated John Dickson, Frontier Financial’s President and Chief Executive, in a prepared statement. ”Whidbey Island Bank is a high-quality organization that operates with a philosophy very similar to our own.” He went on to say, “We believe this will be an outstanding combination of highly talented employees who bring with them a solid customer base, and we look forward to welcoming the Washington Banking team into the Frontier family.”
The holding company for Frontier Bank, Frontier Financial is headquartered in Western Washington. The terms of the agreement call for Frontier to pay approximately $21.40 per share to Washington Banking Co., the holding company of Whidbey Island Bank.
Frontier already owns 782,506 shares of Washington Banking common stock at a cost basis of $3.1 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Frontier operates 47 offices in Washington and plans to open its 48th location in October in Gig Harbor. Whidbey Island Bank has 20 branches in San Juan, Skagit, Island, Whatcom and Snohomish counties.
“The professionals on the Frontier team are amongst the finest bankers in the region, and I am confident that our organizations will both benefit from this combination,” said Michal Cann, chief executive of Washington Banking Co. “As we considered all of our strategic growth options, it became obvious that choosing to partner with Frontier would provide the greatest benefits and opportunities for our shareholders, employees, customers and the communities we serve.”
Following the merger, Cann will continue as senior vice president and regional manager. Additionally, one member of the Washington Banking board will be selected by Frontier to join the boards of Frontier.
Frontier previously announced a merger with the Bank of Salem that it is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. Following the mergers with Bank of Salem and Washington Banking, Frontier’s total assets will be approximately $4.6 billion.
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Frontier Bank recently was rated the No. 1 performing bank among the 150 largest financial institutions in the United States. Frontier participated in the annual ranking for the first time, after adding about $400 million in new loans since June 2006. Frontier’s assets exceeded $3.5 billion as of June 30, 2007.
The rating is based on profitability, capital adequacy and asset quality identified in a report provided to Bank Director Magazine. Bank Director Magazine developed its Bank Performance Scorecard with Sandler O’Neill, a New York investment bank that specializes in bank stocks. The ranking gave profitability factors a full weighting, while capital adequacy and asset quality were given a half weighting. All performance ratios were measured as of June 30.
The ranking identifies banks that generate good profits without leveraging balance sheets or taking excessive lending risks. The recent announcement of the acquisition of Whidbey Island Bank, which is expected to close in March 2008, will result in Frontier operating more than 64 offices throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Congratulations to Frontier Bank which is headquartered out of Everett, WA and has offices through-out Whatcom County.
Comment by Jerry — December 8, 2007 @ 7:39 am