Wall Street Is Panning This Merger -- Should It?
On Oct. 12, Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ: COLB) and Umpqua Holdings (NASDAQ: UMPQ) announced that the two smaller regional banks were joining hands to form a $50-billion-asset bank in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Investors panned the deal, sending shares of Columbia, the buyer in the deal, down more than 14% on the day of the announcement. Shares of Umpqua, which received a nearly 13% premium from its price the day before the announcement, also fell nearly 5% with its shares tied to Columbia.
