Washington Federal to acquire Luther Burbank for $654M in cash

Washington Federal (WAFD) and Luther Burbank (LBC) jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Washington Federal will acquire Luther Burbank and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Luther Burbank Savings, in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $654M based upon the closing price of Washington Federal’s common stock on November 11. Upon closing of the transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of each of Washington Federal and Luther Burbank and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, Luther Burbank shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.3353 shares of Washington Federal common stock for each share of Luther Burbank common stock they own. The transaction, which is anticipated to close as early as the second calendar quarter of 2023, will expand Washington Federal’s franchise into California. Upon completion of the merger, the combined institution will have approximately $29B in total assets, $23B in total loans and $22B in total deposits with over 210 locations in Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico operated through its community bank subsidiary and approximately 2,400 full time employees.