Washington Banking ends merger with Frontier Financial

(Reuters) - Washington Banking Co (WBCO.O) said it terminated its merger agreement with Frontier Financial Corp (FTBK.O) as Frontier failed to obtain regulatory approval on time.

Frontier Financial had agreed to buy Washington Banking for $21.40 a share in a stock-and-cash deal in September, 2007, valuing the bank at about $191.1 million.

Frontier had expected the deal to close in the first quarter.

(Reporting by Adheesha Sarkar in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)