Dive Brief:

• Kalispell, Montana-based Glacier Bank has agreed to acquire Mount Pleasant, Texas-based Guaranty Bancorp in an all-stock deal worth roughly $476.2 million, the institutions said Tuesday.
• The transaction, set to close in the fourth quarter, would give Glacier access to Texas, a coveted market the Montana bank’s CEO said would represent the world’s eighth-largest economy if it were an independent country.
• The deal presumably will push Glacier past the $30 billion-asset threshold, infusing the Montana lender with $3.2 billion in assets, $2.1 billion in loans and $2.7 billion in deposits.

Dive Insight:

Buying Guaranty will give Glacier 33 new locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metro areas, and east and central Texas.

Glacier CEO Randy Chesler called the acquisition “a compelling opportunity to further expand our presence in the Southwest.”

“Guaranty fits strategically and culturally within the unique Glacier business model and will allow us to enter a complementary state with an exceptional demographic profile, strong growth prospects and a business-friendly operating environment,” Chesler said. “This acquisition continues our long history of consistently adding high quality community banks to our proven banking model and we are very enthusiastic about the future opportunities this partnership will provide."

Glacier is unabashedly acquisitive, touting the Guaranty deal as its 27th purchase since 2000. It’s also the second of this year. The Montana bank in January said it would purchase Bank of Idaho for $245.4 million. That transaction closed in May.

Once the latest deal closes, Guaranty will operate as “Guaranty Bank & Trust, Division of Glacier Bank," Glacier said. It would be the Montana lender’s 18th bank division.

“We are pleased to find a partner that emphasizes the relationship banking model that has been core to our success over many decades and through many business cycles," Guaranty CEO Ty Abston said Tuesday. “This partnership gives Guaranty added strength, with the support of a larger balance sheet and the resources to invest in the latest technologies and products to serve our existing and future customers.”

Under Tuesday’s deal, Guaranty shareholders will receive a share of Glacier stock for each Guaranty share they own. The transaction’s $476. 2 million estimated value is based on Glacier’s $41.58-per-share closing price from Monday.

Abston appeared to indicate Guaranty would operate with its current workforce intact.

"We will continue to grow and invest in our communities and our customers will be dealing with the same familiar faces, led by the same management team, in each of our markets,” the CEO said.

Glacier counted roughly $28.2 billion in assets when it announced its Bank of Idaho deal. Including the $1.3 billion in assets Glacier stood to gain in that acquisition, the Montana bank could reach $32.7 billion in assets when the Guaranty transaction closes.

Not all of Glacier’s deals are whole-bank acquisitions. The Kalispell lender bought HTLF Bank’s six-branch Montana presence last August.