Holland & Knight advised Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc., the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank, National Association, one of the largest banks headquartered in Southern California, in its $2.4 billion merger with Columbia Banking System Inc. Columbia is the parent company of Columbia Bank, a western U.S. regional bank based in Oregon. The merger was effective on August 31.

At transaction close, Columbia's assets increased to approximately $70 billion with approximately $50 billion in loans and $56 billion in deposits. The combined organization will operate more than 350 locations across eight western states – Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Idaho.

Holland & Knight Partners Shawn Turner and Jeff Haas (Capital Markets) led the Firm’s representation of Pacific Premier. Other members of the Holland & Knight team included Partner Mary Ellen Stanley and Associates Emily Hantverk, Amelia Occhino, Cristina Salazar and Emma O’Connell (M&A); Partners Jessica Magee, Martin Seidel, Allison Kernisky and Michael Jones (Securities Litigation); Partner Eric Rubin and Associates Connor Jordan and Charnae Supplee (Executive Compensation & Benefits); Partner Dimitri Nionakis (Financial Services Regulatory); Associate Anna Ayar (Real Estate); and Partner Ross Tuminello (Tax).