Whatever
Happened To...
An update on past news
Central Pacific and
City Bank stand
stalemated on mergerQuestion: What ever happened to Central Pacific Financial Corp.'s hostile takeover attempt of CB Bancshares Inc.?
Answer: Neither side has budged.
Central Pacific Bank's parent is committed to seeing the merger through, and City Bank's parent is equally insistent that the marriage not occur. The result is that the state's Commissioner of Financial Institutions will hold a public hearing on the matter at the Capitol on Dec. 8.
Central Pacific, following a springtime media blitz, has turned its attention to getting the required regulatory clearance. It filed applications with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Commissioner of Financial Institutions for approval to acquire control of a majority of City Bank's outstanding shares.
Central Pacific, which made its offer public on April 16, has said that the merger of the two institutions would create a strong bank that would be able to compete with the biggest Hawaii banks and be able to grow.
City Bank has said that the merger would reduce competition, cause 10 branches to close and result in the loss of 200 jobs.
Central Pacific, which has 25 branches, is the fourth-largest bank in the state in terms of assets, while City Bank, with 22 branches, is the fifth largest.
For the merger to go through, Central Pacific needs both shareholder and regulatory approvals. City Bank recently lobbied for legislative support to get Central Pacific to back down.
The stock-and-cash deal was worth $280.1 million, or $64.92 per each share of CB stock, as of yesterday's market close. CB's shares closed yesterday at $62.98.
Three lawsuits are pending on the proposed takeover.
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