CBC Bancorp, the Irvine, California-headquartered holding company for Commercial Bank of California (CBC), has reached an agreement to acquire Bay Community Bancorp, the holding company for Oakland-based Community Bank of the Bay (CBB).
The transaction will see CBC Bancorp purchase Bay Community Bancorp in an all-cash deal valued at $14 per common share, equating to roughly $122 million in total.
CBC Bancorp indicates that the combined entity formed from the merger of the Californian organisations will manage assets of around $3.5 billion.
Following the acquisition, which is pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, CBB will become a privately held bank, owned by a limited number of stakeholders, and its shares will no longer be publicly traded.
Additionally, CBC Bancorp confirms that CBB will retain its San Francisco Bay Area branch operations and brand identity while officially becoming a division of CBC.
Commenting on the deal, William Keller, CEO of CBB, says: “One of the many benefits of this combination is that the combined bank’s greater scale will allow for increased investments in products and services that will directly benefit our clients and enhance productivity”.
Upon completion of the transaction, anticipated in “late 2024 or early 2025”, CBB will establish a new advisory board, with Keller appointed as its chairman. Additionally, Mukhtar Ali, the current president and chief credit officer at CBB, will assume the role of president of the board.