Bulletin staff report

Cascade Bancorp, parent company of Bank of the Cascades, announced Thursday an agreement to acquire Community Bank of Grants Pass (CBGP), a community bank based in Grants Pass with approximately $50 million in assets.

The transaction will jump-start Cascade Bancorp’s recently announced expansion into southern Oregon, headed by long-time local banker and executive vice president Bill Haden. Bank of the Cascades (Nasdaq: CACB) opened its first branch in Medford on July 14.

”This transaction is a logical joining of complementary markets and organizations,” Patricia L. Moss, president and CEO of Cascade Bancorp said in a statement. ”Both markets are quality-of-life communities that are attracting new residents who value personal-touch community banking. We are pleased that our resources will allow an enhancement of service and conveniences to CBGP customers.”

Under the terms of the deal, CBGP shareholders will receive one share of CACB stock for each share of CBGP stock. At Cascade Bancorp’s recent stock price of $18, the value of the transaction is approximately $11.9 million, about 230 percent of book value or 17.6 times the last 12 month’s earnings reported by CBGP.

Cascade has a 33 percent market share in Deschutes County, which has grown at a rate in the 98th percentile of county growth nationwide over the past decade.

Mike Peil, president of CBGP said in a statement: ”Our partnering with Bank of the Cascades will enable us to complement our hometown bank heritage with top-tier technology and business banking services. We believe combining our organizations will result in an outstanding match for our customers, community, employees, and shareholders.” Peil will continue to lead the lending team in the Josephine County market.