PrivateBancorp setting new date for shareholder vote on sale to CIBC

PrivateBancorp in Chicago is planning a new shareholder meeting to vote on its planned sale to Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto.

The meeting will take place "on or about" May 4, the $20 billion-asset PrivateBancorp said in a press release Monday.

CIBC agreed in June to buy PrivateBancorp for $3.8 billion in cash and stock, or just under $50 a share. A bull market that began after the presidential election has pushed PrivateBancorp’s stock significantly higher; shares were priced at $57.16 in early trading Monday.

PrivateBancorp postponed its original special meeting, which was set for Dec. 8, after some investors and proxy advisory services began to advise against approving the deal.

Representatives for PrivateBancorp and CIBC, said the companies remain confident in the deal's strategic benefits, adding that the special meeting is the next step in the process of getting approvals.

PrivateBancorp is a high-stakes deal for CIBC. Several analysts have raised concerns that the $385 billion-asset company risks falling behind other leading Canadian banks, such as TD Bank Group, Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada, that have made extensive investments in the increasingly lucrative U.S. banking market.