National Bank agrees to buy privately-held Vista in $369 million deal

National Bank Holdings

15/09/2025 23:16

Sept 15 (Reuters) - National Bank Holdings NBHC.N said on Monday it would acquire smaller peer Vista Bank in a $369.1 million cash-and-stock transaction, a move aimed at expanding the regional lender's footprint in Texas.

The second half of the year is expected to provide footing to a long-predicted wave of dealmaking among regional lenders, as a lighter regulatory touch under the current administration lifts executive sentiment despite residual macroeconomic uncertainty.

Last week, U.S. bank PNC Financial PNC.N agreed to buy privately-held FirstBank Holding in a $4.1 billion cash-and-stock deal, following an $8.6 billion all-stock merger between Pinnacle Financial Partners PNFP.O and Synovus Financial SNV.N in July.

"While we may have had multiple opportunities along the way and strongly considered an IPO, after meeting the NBHC team, it became clear to us that NBH Bank is the right partner at the right time," Vista Bank Chief Executive Officer John Steinmetz said. Steinmetz will lead the Texas markets for the combined entity.

Under the deal terms, Vista shareholders will receive about $84.8 million in cash and 7.4 million shares of National Bank common stock.

Based on National Bank's closing share price of $38.47 on Friday, the deal is valued at $369.1 million.

Founded in 1912, Dallas-based Vista Bank reported $2.4 billion in assets across 11 banking centers as of June 30, primarily operating in Texas and Palm Beach, Florida.

The combined entity will hold about $12.4 billion in pro forma assets, with Denver, Colorado-based National Bank planning to retain Vista's brand in Texas.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

 (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

 ((Ateev.Bhandari@thomsonreuters.com;))