VALLEY-BASED FIRST STATE BEING BOUGHT BOSTON PRIVATE FINANCIAL AGREES TO $26.6 MILLION PACT.Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer GRANADA HILLS - Boston Private Financial Holdings will buy First State Bancorp for about $26.6 million in cash and stock as the company looks to broaden its footprint in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Boston Private agreed late last week to pay 15 percent of the deal in cash and 85 percent in stock initially valued at $18.38 per share. Each share of Granada Hills-based First State will be converted into a combination of $2.76 in cash and 0.7547 shares of Boston Private common stock. ``The Greater Los Angeles Area The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is the agglomeration of urbanized area around the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. There are two "official" definitions—the Los Angeles metropolitan area consisting only of the Los Angeles and Orange is an extremely attractive market for Boston Private as we build our national wealth management company,'' Timothy Vaill, chairman and chief executive officer of Boston Private, said in a statement. Boston Private will acquire holding company First State Bancorp's First State Bank offices in Granada Hills, Burbank and Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga (răn`chō k  'kəmäng`gə), city (1990 pop. 101,409), San Bernardino co., S Calif. . Those offices will continue to operate under the First
State Bank name.
With 41 employees and a 20-year history, Richard C. Taylor, First State's president and chief executive officer, said the bank's exceptional level of pride will not go away. ``The bank will remain the same. If anything, the acquisition allows us to expand our reach into other areas,'' said Taylor, who will retain his position as president. ``I'm certainly excited about this. Our shareholders got a fair deal, we expand our capabilities and we maintain our relationships with our customers.'' Boston Private shares declined 29 cents to close at $23.70 Wednesday on the Nasdaq market, while First State Bancorp added 15 cents to close at $18.50 on the OTC Bulletin Board OTC Bulletin Board An electronic quotation listing of the bid and asked prices of OTC stocks that do not meet the requirements to be listed on the NASDAQ stock-listing system. . Analysts say the deal is a boon for both companies. ``In terms of the acquisition, Boston Private paid a fair price but they didn't pay a top price. And the stock and cash breakdown was a also a pretty smart move for First State,'' said Gerard Cassidy, analyst with RBC Capital Markets RBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking division of Royal Bank of Canada ("RBC"). Broker dealers Depending on the jurisdiction, the division uses different broker dealer subsidiaries of RBC:
Boston Private's earnings would likely receive an immediate boost from the acquisition. The company has total assets of about $1.85 billion, with $6.7 billion in client assets. First State has $174 million in assets. In First State's most recent quarter, the company reported pre-tax income of $842,532, an increase of 48.7 percent when compared with the first quarter 2002. The bank saw a significant increase in loans, most stemming from real estate transactions. Mark Fitzgibbon, director of research for Sandlier O'Neill & Partners in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , said the First State acquisition lays the initial ground work for a greater plan. ``Boston Private now has a small bank, and then they'll get into asset management, followed by financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against ,'' he said. ``And Granada Hills is a good location because Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is one of the wealth centers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. .'' Boston Private has six operating companies located in California and New England offering wealth management and private banking services. The bank reported net interest income of $17.7 million in the second quarter, compared with $16.4 million in the same period a year ago. The company said the quarter was a difficult period due to a decline in interest rates that compressed Boston Private's net interest margin. Evan Pondel, (818) 713-3662 evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com |
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