Banner Corporation in Acquisition of AmericanWest Bank

Cleary Gottlieb is representing Banner Corporation in its acquisition of Starbuck Bancshares, Inc. for a combination of cash and stock. Starbuck Bancshares, Inc. is the bank holding company for AmericanWest Bank, which operates 94 branches in California, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Utah. The transaction, valued at $702 million, will create a super community bank with over $9.7 billion in assets, $6.8 billion in loans, $7.9 billion in deposits, and approximately 190 branches across five western states. The deal was announced on November 5, 2014 and is expected to be close by the second quarter of 2015.

Based in Walla Walla, Washington, Banner Corporation is a $4.8 billion in assets bank holding company operating two commercial banks in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Banner serves the Pacific Northwest region with a full range of deposit services and business, commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural and consumer loans.