A Quick View on the ViewPoint Deal

Here's something that could thrill bank M&A hawks — or depress them.

The first straight bank deal worth more than $50 million in nearly six months was announced last week, when ViewPoint Financial Group Inc. in Plano, Texas, agreed to pay $71 million on Dec. 8 for Highlands Bancshares Inc. in Jacksboro.

The last pure bank-to-bank merger to breach the $50 million was Susquehanna Bancshares Inc.'s $343 million purchase of Tower Bancorp Inc. on June 20, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.'s latest weekly tally of bank M&A happenings.

That excludes unconventional transactions such as BB&T Corp.'s $300 million carve-out in November of only the good parts of Bank Atlantic Bancorp Inc.'s banking franchise.

Does this mean bigger deals, or prices, are on a comeback? Not quite.

ViewPoint is in a weird spot that is compelling it to dole out its depressed shares in an all-stock deal.

It also needs a chief executive. The head of the smaller bank in the deal — Highlands President and CEO Kevin Hanigan — will hold the top job at the merged entity after the deal closes.

Though there have been a few all-stock deals recently, experts expect most decent-size banks to steer clear of using shares to pay for things until the sector rebounds from the crash in bank stocks. That reality likely will keep prices in check.