East West Bancorp To Buy MetroCorp Bancshares

(RTTNews) - East West Bancorp Inc. (EWBC) has agreed to buy MetroCorp Bancshares Inc. (MCBI), for about $273 million.

East West, the parent company of East West Bank, will acquire the outstanding shares of MetroCorp for the lesser of $14.60 per share and 1.72 times the per share tangible equity, as adjusted, for an aggregate purchase price of about $273 million based on the 18.7 million shares currently outstanding.

The shareholders of MetroCorp will receive two thirds of the merger consideration in shares of East West common stock and the remainder in cash.

MetroCorp operates 18 branches under its two subsidiary banks, MetroBank and Metro United Bank. As of June 30, 2013, MetroCorp reported total assets of $1.6 billion, total loans of $1.2 billion and total deposits of $1.3 billion.

"This is a strategic merger that will significantly increase East West's presence in Houston and allow entry into the Dallas market. Additionally, the merger further strengthens East West's branch network in California and expands our footprint to San Diego," stated Dominic Ng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of East West.

The merger, which has been unanimously approved by the East West and MetroCorp Boards of Directors, is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2014, although delays may occur.

The deal is expected to be 4 percent accretive to East West's 2014 full year earnings, excluding any one-time merger and restructuring charges.