Global Credit Union to acquire First Financial Northwest Bank for $231m
Alaska-based Global Credit Union has signed a definitive agreement to acquire First Financial Northwest Bank for $231.2 million in an all-cash deal.
Global Credit Union to acquire First Financial Northwest Bank
The transaction has been structured as a purchase and assumption agreement, under which Global Credit Union will purchase substantially all assets and assume substantially all liabilities of the bank, subject to certain adjustments.
Following the completion of the transaction, First Financial Northwest Bank and its parent company First Financial Northwest will wind down operations and dissolve, with the bank expecting its shareholders to receive approximately $23.18 to $23.75 per share upon liquidation, subject to adjustments.
With the acquisition, Global Credit Union aims to expand its business and commercial services and enhance its branch presence across western Washington. First Financial’s customers will be transferred to Global and will receive full access to the latter’s products and services.
Describing both institutions as “financially sound”, Geoff Lundfelt, president and CEO of Global Credit Union, says: “This combination will continue to enhance service delivery and growth in a market that the credit union has been operating in for over four decades, adding numerous branches.
“First Financial Northwest Bank’s branch network has a technology-forward design, accelerating the transformation to an environment with a structure and atmosphere more suited to conducting business in the future.”
Lundfelt adds that the credit union expects the projected future earnings from the acquisition to “justify” the pricing of the transaction “and are expected to be accretive to Global from a financial perspective”.
The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024, subject to regulatory approvals, approval from First Financial Northwest’s shareholders, and customary closing conditions.
Global Credit Union, formerly known as Alaska USA, was founded in 1948. It currently operates in five US states and in Italy, with 750,000 members, more than $11 billion in assets, and over 2,000 employees.
First Financial Northwest Bank was established in 1923 in Renton, Washington, USA. It is now a full-service community commercial bank with over 150 employees, $1.53 billion in assets and $1.21 billion in deposits.
