Glacier Bancorp to acquire Guaranty Bancshares for $476.2m.

Glacier Bancorp, a bank holding company, agreed to acquire Guaranty Bancshares, a Texas-based commercial bank, for $476.2m. "We are thrilled to add Guaranty Bank & Trust to the Glacier family of banks as a new banking Division. This is a compelling opportunity to further expand our presence in the Southwest. Guaranty fits strategically and culturally within the unique Glacier business model and will allow us to enter a complementary state with an exceptional demographic profile, strong growth prospects, and a business-friendly operating environment. The Texas economy is estimated to be worth $2.7 trillion, and if Texas were an independent country, its economy would be the 8th largest in the world." Chesler also noted that "This acquisition continues our long history of consistently adding high quality community banks to our proven banking model and we are very enthusiastic about the future opportunities this partnership will provide," Randy Chesler, Glacier President and CEO.