Glacier Bancorp buys Alta Bank in near-$1 billion deal

Altabancorp, the American Fork-based bank holding company for Altabank, has been acquired by Glacier Bancorp Inc. of Kalispell, Montana. Formerly known as People’s Utah Bancorp, Altabancorp was formed from mergers of separate institutions, including Bank of American Fork, Lewiston State Bank and People’s State Bank of American Fork.

Altabank provides banking services to individuals and businesses throughout Utah and southern Idaho with 25 branch locations from Preston, Idaho, to St. George. As of March 31, Alta had total assets of $3.5 billion, total loans of $1.8 billion and total deposits of $3.2 billion.

The acquisition marks Glacier’s 24th announced acquisition since 2000 and its seventh acquisition in the past five years. This also marks Glacier’s second acquisition of a Utah-based bank in the past two years, acquiring First Community Bank of Layton in 2019.

The boards of Glacier and Alta unanimously approved the transaction, which will close upon regulatory approval, Alta shareholder approval and other customary conditions of closing. Glacier has obtained voting agreements from Alta’s directors, executive officers and principal shareholders, including members of the Gunther family, who obtained control of the People’s State Bank of American Fork in the early 1960s.

The agreement provides for Alta shareholders to receive 0.7971 shares of Glacier stock for each Alta share. Based on the closing price of $61.51 for Glacier shares on May 17, the transaction would result in an aggregate value of $933.5 million. Upon closing, which is anticipated to take place in the fourth quarter of 2021, Altabank will become Glacier’s 17th bank division and will operate under its existing name.

“We are excited and proud to welcome Altabank to the Glacier family of banks,” said Randy Chesler, Glacier’s president and CEO. “This is an exceptional opportunity to solidify Glacier’s presence in the booming Utah market by partnering with the largest community bank in the state. We have been keenly focused on building our presence in Utah and this opportunity checks all the boxes.”

“This acquisition is consistent with our history of adding high-quality community banks to our proven banking model,” Chesler continued. “Altabank has been serving customers in Utah for over 100 years and has developed a leading position and lasting legacy in the markets it serves.”

“Altabank has been a market leader in Utah for decades. In our constant quest to be bigger, better and stronger, the opportunity to join the Glacier family of banks was an undeniably great one for us,” said Len Williams, president and CEO of Alta. “Becoming part of the Glacier family gives us the chance to compete with anyone, anywhere in our market, all while maintaining our local autonomy.”