First National of Nebraska has struck a deal to acquire Western States BanCorp. in Laramie, Wyoming.
The $25.8 billion-asset First National, parent of First National Bank of Omaha, said it would gain $542 million of assets and $486 million of deposits across a footprint that spans southeast Wyoming, northeast Colorado and the Nebraska panhandle. Western States operates 10 branches.
The deal, announced Monday and projected to close in the first quarter of 2022, would expand the Omaha-based bank's presence in its home state and Colorado while providing entrance to the Wyoming markets of Laramie and Cheyenne.
Laramie, the state’s third-largest market, is home to the University of Wyoming. Cheyenne is the state’s capital and largest city.
Once the conversion process is completed next year, all Western States locations will operate under the First National name, First National Chairman and CEO Clark Lauritzen said in a press release.
First National did not disclose financial terms of the deal. The deal marks a return to M&A for First National, which last closed a bank acquisition in 2008, according to S&P Global data.
First National’s bank has nearly 100 branches across Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.
