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Sioux Falls, S.D. • Great Western Bancorp Inc. plans to acquire HF Financial Corp., the parent company of Home Federal Bank.

The deal involving the two Sioux Falls-based banking companies will create an entity with $11.3 billion in assets, $8.5 billion in loans and $8.6 billion in deposits. It will serve 127 communities in nine states.

The cash and stock transaction is valued at $19.70 per share, or about $140 million total. It's pending regulatory approval and expected to be complete by next summer.

Great Western Bancorp is the holding company for Great Western Bank, which has locations in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Kansas and Missouri. Home Federal Bank has locations in South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota.

"This acquisition offers us the opportunity to expand our footprint and customer base by complementing our existing branch network presence in eastern South Dakota and adding locations in attractive markets in Fargo, North Dakota, and Minnesota," Great Western Bank President and CEO Ken Karels said in a statement.

The deal means four of 12 Home Federal and Great Western branches in Sioux Falls will close, according to the Argus Leader newspaper. It was not immediately clear how many of the two companies' 505 employees in the city would be affected.

"In any merger you're concerned about the impact on people," said Steve Bianchi, Home Federal's president and CEO, adding that the company will reduce staffing through attrition where possible. "A larger organization like Great Western will create more career options and advancement potential for all employees."