Robbins LLP: Acquisition of Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (WIBC) by BBCN Bancorp, Inc. (BBCN) May Not Be in Shareholders’ Best Interests
Robbins LLP is investigating the proposed acquisition of Wilshire Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: WIBC) by BBCN Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: BBCN). On December 7, 2015, the two companies announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which BBCN Bancorp will acquire Wilshire Bancorp. Under the terms of the agreement, Wilshire Bancorp shareholders will receive 0.7034 shares of BBCN for each share of Wilshire Bancorp they own, the value of which is equivalent to $13.00 per share of Wilshire Bancorp.
Is the Proposed Acquisition Best for Wilshire Bancorp and Its Shareholders?
Robbins LLP’s investigation focuses on whether the board of directors at Wilshire Bancorp is undertaking a fair process to obtain maximum value and adequately compensate its shareholders.
As an initial matter, the $13.00 merger consideration represents a premium of only 8.0% based on Wilshire Bancorp’s one-week average closing price. This premium is significantly below the average one-week premium of nearly 32.4% for comparable transactions within the past five years. Most recently, Wilshire Bancorp traded above the merger consideration – at $13.02 – on July 16, 2015.
On October 19, 2015, Wilshire Bancorp reported strong earnings results for its third quarter 2015. Total interest income for the quarter was $44.2 million, an increase of 7.0% compared to the same period last year. Total loans receivable were $3.6 billion, an increase of 15% compared to the same period last year. In commenting on these results, Wilshire Bancorp President and Chief Executive Officer Jae Whan Yoo remarked, “We had a very strong quarter of business development with more than $400 million in total loan production. We continue to make progress in building our commercial lending platform, which resulted in more than $100 million in C&I loan production in the third quarter, the highest quarterly production in our history. We are also seeing increasing production from our residential mortgage lending business, which originated over $100 million in loans during the third quarter. The progress we are making in building our C&I and residential mortgage lending businesses is helping us to achieve the more diversified loan portfolio that we are targeting.”
In light of these facts, Robbins LLP is examining Wilshire Bancorp’s board of directors’ decision to sell the company now rather than allow shareholders to continue to participate in the company’s continued success and future growth prospects.
Wilshire Bancorp shareholders have the option to file a class action lawsuit to ensure the board of directors obtains the best possible price for shareholders and the disclosure of material information.
Wilshire shareholders interested in information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, or you can complete the form below and we will contact you directly.