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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp said today it's agreed to buy Houston-based Amegy Bancorp for one-point-seven (B) billion dollars in cash and stock.
Amegy Bancorp is the third-largest independent commercial bank in Texas. Zions operates in eight Western states and now makes a move to enter the Texas market.
Under terms of the deal, Amegy shareholders will get a combination of cash and stock valued at 23 dollars 32 cents for each Amergy share. That's a one-and-a-half percent premium over yesterday's closing price.
The deal is subject to approval by Amegy shareholders and banking regulators. Zions says it expects the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of 2005.
Houston-based Amegy will continue to operate as a separate company under its current brand name and management team.
Zions Utah Bancorp operates about 400 bank branches in eight Western states under such names as Nevada State Bank and California Bank and Trust. It has about eight thousand employees.
Amegy has about 21-hundred workers.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
