AmericanWest Bank, of Spokane, says it has agreed to acquire Medford, Ore.-based PremierWest Bank.
The transaction is valued at about $16.6 million and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2013.
AmericanWest spokeswoman Kelly McPhee says PremierWest is the fifth largest bank in Oregon, and the acquisition is the largest that the Spokane-based institution has undertaken to date. PremierWest had a total of $1.2 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, which is half as much as AmericanWest's $2.4 billion in assets as of July 2.
In total, PremierWest has 32 offices in Oregon and Northern California and offers expanded financial services through PremierWest Investment Services Inc. AmericanWest currently operates 75 branches in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Utah.
Under the terms of the agreement, PremierWest Bancorp shareholders will receive $1.65 per common share upon the closing of the transaction. In addition, at the completion of the transaction, AmericanWest will pay to the U.S. Department of Treasury the $41.4 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money that PremierWest currently owes.