Banc of California (BANC) in Irvine is getting $20 million from a private-equity investor.
Patriot Financial Partners, a Philadelphia PE firm that specializes in community banks, has agreed to buy more than 1.5 million shares of Banc of California for $13.25 each, a price 6% higher than the company's Tuesday closing price of $12.46 a share.
The sale would give Patriot an ownership stake of approximately 8%, based on the number of outstanding shares of Banc of California common stock as of Sept. 30. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 10.
"Patriot has an exceptional track record in investing in strong and growing banks, and we're happy to count ourselves among this group," Banc of California Chief Executive Steven Sugarman said in the news release. "The additional capital will help drive our focus on serving small to midsize businesses, high net worth families and homeowners throughout California."
Patriot has also invested in
The $3.7 billion-asset Banc of California has
In November, Banc of California filed a
Its shares were trading at $12.65, up 1.5%, at midday Wednesday.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz advised Banc of California on the Patriot agreement, and Elias, Matz, Tiernan & Herrick advised Patriot.