TACOMA, Wash. and
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia
Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLB), ("Columbia"), today announced the completion of
its acquisition of Bank of Commerce Holdings (NASDAQ: BOCH), ("Bank
of Commerce"), the holding company of Merchants Bank of Commerce.
Following completion of the acquisition, Merchants Bank of Commerce
was merged with and into Columbia's wholly owned subsidiary, Columbia
State Bank.
Under terms of the transaction agreement, Bank of Commerce
shareholders received 0.40 of a share of Columbia common stock for each share of Bank
of Commerce stock. Based on the issuance of 6,740,686 shares of
Columbia common stock, the total deal consideration paid to Bank of
Commerce shareholders was approximately $256
million.
Clint Stein, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Columbia,
said, "We are delighted to announce the completion of our merger
with Merchants Bank of Commerce which marks our first physical
presence in the state of California. The expansion is a natural
continuation of our existing footprint and strengthens Columbia's position as a leading regional
bank. We are pleased to welcome the Merchants Bank of Commerce
family of clients, employees and shareholders to Columbia. As a combined company, our teams
will continue to provide our relationship style of banking to the
communities we serve."
With the addition of Merchants Bank of Commerce, on a pro forma
combined basis, Columbia Bank has over $20
billion in total assets and over 150 branches throughout
Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.
In celebration of the close of the merger, Columbia donated $50,000 to the Community Foundation of the North
State to aid in the relief efforts helping neighbors and businesses
that have been impacted by the recent wildfires in northern
California. Kerry Caranci, Chief Executive Officer of
Community Foundation of the North State shared with us, "We are
very appreciative of this generous gift to our North State Wildfire
Recovery Fund, which will support intermediate and long-term
recovery efforts for major wildfires within northern California, as well as preparedness efforts.
The Community Foundation has valued our partnership with Merchants
Bank over the years and we look forward to growing the relationship
with Columbia Bank."
Later this year, Columbia plans
to pay $500,000 to small businesses
throughout northern California as
part of its Pass It On Project following the close of the merger.
The project began in the summer of 2020 as an effort to help
support businesses working to recover from statewide stay-at-home
orders while providing additional support for the community.
Columbia was advised on this
transaction by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel
Company, as financial advisor and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP,
as legal counsel. Bank of Commerce was advised by Raymond James & Associates, Inc. as
financial advisor, and Miller Nash LLP as legal counsel.
About Columbia
Headquartered in Tacoma,
Washington, Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLB) is
the holding company of Columbia State Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service
commercial bank with locations throughout Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho. The bank has been named one of Puget
Sound Business Journal's "Washington's Best Workplaces," more than 10
times and was ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction with Retail
Banking in the Northwest region by J.D. Power in the 2020 U.S.
Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. Columbia was named the #1 bank in the
Northwest on the Forbes 2020 list of "America's Best Banks" marking
nearly 10 consecutive years on the publication's list of top
financial institutions.
Contact Information
Columbia:
Clint Stein, President &
Chief Executive Officer (253) 593-8304
Aaron Deer, Chief Financial
Officer (253)
305-1966
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SOURCE Columbia Banking System, Inc.