Sec Form 4 Filing - THOMAS H. LEE ADVISORS, LLC @ STERLING FINANCIAL CORP /WA/ - 2014-04-18

FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person THOMAS H. LEE ADVISORS, LLC 2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol STERLING FINANCIAL CORP /WA/ [ STSA] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director X __ 10% Owner _____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) (Last) (First) (Middle) C/O THOMAS H. LEE PARTNERS, L.P., 100 FEDERAL STREET 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (MM/DD/YY) 04/18/2014 (Street) BOSTON, MA02110 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YY) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) __ X __ Form filed by One Reporting Person _____ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip)

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned 1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common Stock 04/18/2014 J( 1 ) 12,954,788 ( 2 ) D 0 I See Footnotes ( 2 ) ( 4 )

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities) 1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3) 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (MM/DD/YY) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (MM/DD/YY) 4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5) 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YY) 7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4) 8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5) 9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4) 10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares Warrant (right to buy) $ 14.52 ( 5 ) 04/18/2014 J( 6 ) 1,480,119 10/21/2010 08/26/2017 Common Stock 1,480,119 ( 3 ) ( 6 ) 0 I See Footnotes ( 3 ) ( 4 )

Reporting Owners Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships Director 10% Owner Officer Other THOMAS H. LEE ADVISORS, LLC C/O THOMAS H. LEE PARTNERS, L.P. 100 FEDERAL STREET BOSTON, MA02110 X Signatures /s/ Charles P. Holden 04/22/2014 Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

( 1 )On April 18, 2014, pursuant to the Merger Agreement (the "Merger Agreement"), dated September 11, 2013, between Sterling Financial Corporation ("Sterling") and Umpqua Holdings Corporation ("Umpqua"), each share of Sterling common stock was converted into the right to receive 1.671 shares of Umpqua common stock and $2.18 in cash (the "Merger Consideration"). ( 2 )Represents shares of the Issuer disposed of by the following entities: 7,134,979 shares by Thomas H. Lee Equity Fund VI, L.P. ("Equity"), 4,831,433 shares by Thomas H. Lee Parallel Fund VI, L.P. ("Parallel"), 843,956 shares by Thomas H. Lee Equity Parallel (DT) Fund VI, L.P. ("DT"), 137,744 shares by THL Sterling Equity Investors L.P. ("THL Sterling") and 6,676 shares by THL Managers VI, LLC ("Managers"). ( 3 )Represents warrants of the Issuer owned by the following entities which were converted in connection with the merger: 815,617 shares by Equity, 552,287 shares by Parallel, 96,473 shares by DT and 15,742 shares by THL Sterling. ( 4 )Thomas H. Lee Advisors, LLC ("THL Advisors") is the general partner of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. ("THL") which in turn is the managing member of Managers and the sole member of THL Equity Advisors VI, LLC ("Advisors"). Advisors is the general partner of Equity, Parallel, DT and THL Sterling. The Reporting Person disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities listed in this report, and this report shall not be deemed an admission that the Reporting Person is the beneficial owner of such securities for the purpose of Section 16 or for any other purpose, except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein. ( 5 )Exercise price, as adjusted for certain issuances of common stock, stock splits, stock subdivisions, stock reclassifications, stock combinations, other distributions, certain repurchases, business combinations and similar actions. ( 6 )As provided in the Merger Agreement, the Warrant was automatically converted, as of the effective time of the merger, into a warrant exercisable for the Merger Consideration that the Sterling common stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrant immediately prior to the effective time would have been entitled to receive upon completion of the merger.

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* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).

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