Glacier Bancorp Went Big and Is Paying Up For Its Latest Acquisition. Here's Why

The nearly $20 billion asset Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ: GBCI) based in Montana recently announced its intention to acquire the $3.5 billion asset Altabancorp (NASDAQ: ALTA), the largest community bank in Utah. The deal is a bit of a divergence from acquisitions Glacier has made in the past, which tend to be smaller. Glacier is also paying a hefty premium to buy Altabancorp. Let's take a look at what drove Glacier to pull the trigger and what it means for the combined company going forward.

Glacier plans to pay close to $934 million in an all-stock deal to acquire Altabancorp, valuing each common share at $49.03. That values Altabancorp at almost 290% of tangible book value (equity minus goodwill and intangible assets). Even with today's high bank valuations, that is a huge premium, but is not entirely surprising considering that Altabancorp is a high-performing bank in a fast-growing market.

Source Fool.com