| Venture Financial Group, Inc., parent company of Venture Bank, which has an office in Gig Harbor, has announced the completion of its merger with Washington Commercial Bancorp (WCB) and with WCB's principal operating subsidiary Redmond National Bank.
The stock and cash transaction, completed on Sept. 2, is valued at approximately $24.4 million. On Sept. 3, Venture Bank began to convert the two Redmond National Bank branches into Venture Bank Financial Centers. The merger continues Venture's expansion into King County.
Ken F. Parsons, Sr. will continue to lead the combined organization as chairman and CEO of Venture Financial Group, Inc. James F. Arneson, former president and CEO of Washington Commercial Bancorp and Redmond National Bank, will serve as president of Venture Financial Group, Inc. and as president and CEO of Venture Bank. Before joining Redmond National Bank, Arneson served Venture Bank for 10 years including time as its Chief Financial Officer.
The integration is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter and be accretive to Venture's earnings per share in 2006. Approximately 574,608 shares of Venture common stock will be issued and $12.4 million in cash paid to WCB shareholders in connection with the merger. The combined organization will have assets of approximately $775 million, deposits of approximately $560 million and shareholders' equity of approximately $75 million.
As a result of the merger, Venture has restructured its board of directors to include Arneson and Keith Brewe from the WCB board of directors. |
