Buyout of
First Hawaiian
parent approved

France-based BNP Paribas
wins Fed approval for
100 percent ownership

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Star-Bulletin

The Federal Reserve Board today unanimously approved BNP Paribas S.A.'s $2.5 billion acquisition of First Hawaiian Bank's parent company.

By a 5-0 vote, the Fed approved France-based BNP Paribas' bid to acquire the 55 percent of BancWest Corp. it does not already own, giving it full ownership of the parent of First Hawaiian and San Francisco-based Bank of the West.

The approval represents the final hurdle to the mega-deal which was announced in May and will allow BNP to complete the acquisition by the end of this year.

The Fed requires a 15-day waiting period once the approval has been granted.

BNP Paribas, with $709.2 billion in assets, owned 45 percent of BancWest prior to the Fed's approval. BancWest, with $19.8 billion in assets, is the 35th largest U.S. bank with 252 branches in seven states, Guam and Saipan.

BancWest will remain based in Honolulu as a subsidiary of BNP Paribas and the names of its subsidiary banks will be unchanged.

On Sept. 20, BancWest shareholders approved the BNP Paribas acquisition of shares it doesn't already own for $35 per share.

Shares of BancWest rose 6 cents to $34.81 in New York Stock Exchange trading. American depository receipts of BNP Paribas closed up 55 cents to $22.15.

First Hawaiian spokesman Gerry Keir had no immediate comment today.