Washington Federal, Inc. WAFD “Washington Federal”))) and Luther Burbank Corporation LBC “Luther Burbank”))) jointly announced today the execution of a definitive merger agreement (“Merger Agreement”) pursuant to which Washington Federal will acquire Luther Burbank and its wholly-owned subsidiary Luther Burbank Savings in a stock transaction at approximately $654 million, based on the closing price of Washington Federal common stock on November 11, 2022.
Upon completion of the transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Washington Federal and Luther Burbank and is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, Luther Burbank shareholders will be entitled to 0.3353 shares of Washington Federal common stock for each share of the Luther Burbank common stock that they own. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2023, will expand Washington Federal’s franchise into California.
“One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t find the right store – the right store finds you. That’s the case here,” said Brent Beardall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Washington Federal. “It checks all the boxes. It creates scale. It creates a contiguous footprint from Seattle to Austin. Unlike so many comparable transactions, this transaction will not negatively impact our tangible book value and will have a positive impact on projected earnings and capital… .
