Eugene bank buys Seattle bank.

Byline: Ilene Aleshire The Register-Guard

The parent company of Eugene-based Pacific Continental Bank announced Wednesday that it is acquiring a Seattle bank in a deal the companies value at $39 million, including stock options.

The acquisition of Seattle-based Northwest Business Bank will give Pacific Continental entry into Washington state, including the Seattle-Bellevue markets, which are the Pacific Northwest's largest commercial markets, said Hal Brown, chief executive of Pacific Continental. It also will give Pacific Continental access to the Vancouver, Wash., market, which offers a natural expansion possibility for Pacific Continental's Portland operations, Brown said.

"The combined enterprise will be unique among Pacific Northwest community banks with offices in three of the Northwest region's largest metropolitan areas," Brown said in a statement.

Pacific Continental is paying about $14.5 million in cash and about $22.2 million in newly issued stock for the Seattle bank, which has an office in Seattle and one in Bellevue and assets of $143.4 million. Outstanding Northwest Business stock options also will be rolled into options to buy Pacific Continental stock, boosting the total value of the deal to $39 million, the two banks said.

Pacific Continental has 10 banking offices in Portland and Eugene, and assets of $553.8 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, boosting Pacific Continental's assets to more than $750 million.

The Washington deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions by the Oregon bank, which was founded in 1972. The bank's first expansion outside its home of Eugene came in 1996, when it opened a branch in Portland. Its most recent expansion came earlier this year, when Pacific Continental said it would be opening a fourth Portland branch by the end of 2005.

Pacific Continental said most of Northwest Business Bank's employees are expected to remain with the combined company and that key executives of the Seattle bank have agreed to stay on, including its chief executive, Basant Singh, who will be director of the greater Seattle operations.

The acquisition, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, was announced after the close of financial markets. Pacific Continental's stock closed Wednesday at $15.75, down 11 cents.