Western Sierra Bancorp of Cameron, Calif., has agreed to pay $23.1 million in cash and stock for Gold Country Bank in Marysville.
The deal, announced Friday, is Western Sierra’s seventh in the past five years and would bring it into three counties north of Sacramento: Sutter, Yuba, and Butte.
Gold Country has $136 million of assets, five branches, and a 3.5% share of the $3.9 billion deposit market in the three counties. Founded as Foothill Community Bank in 1986, it changed its name to Gold Country in 2000.
The $1.2 billion-asset Western Sierra plans to close the deal by April, then merge Gold Country into Western Sierra Bank, its flagship bank subsidiary. Ronald W. Kelly, Gold Country’s president and chief executive officer, and John A. Marta, its chairman, would join Western Sierra’s board.
Gold Country recorded net income of $772,000 for the first three quarters of this year. It earned $1.3 million last year.
