SAN FRANCISCO — BancWest Corp. said Tuesday that it is buying Midwestern thrift Commercial Federal Corp. for $1.36 billion, continuing a shopping spree that has built it into one of the nation's largest banks west of the Mississippi.
Marking its 16th acquisition in the past 15 years, Honolulu-based BancWest is paying $34 per share — a 31 percent premium above Commercial Federal's price before the deal was announced. Commercial Federal's stockholders also will receive a one-time dividend of 50 cents per share after the all-cash deal closes, something expected to occur late this year.
Commercial Federal's shares surged $8.01, or 31 percent, to close at $33.95 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Based in Omaha, Neb., Commercial Federal is the nation's 12th largest thrift with assets of $10.4 billion. It will become part of Bank of the West, an obscure Northern California bank until it began an aggressive expansion in the early 1990s with the backing of its current owner, Paris-based BNP Paribas.
Commercial Federal's heritage dates back to 1887, while Bank of the West first opened in 1874 as the Farmers National Gold Bank. It became the Bank of the West 26 years ago.
With the Commercial Federal acquisition, Bank of the West will pick up another 198 branches, including 59 offices in three states — Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas — where it previously didn't operate. Commercial Federal's other branches are in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Arizona.
No branch closures are planned after the takeover, Bank of the West spokesman Gerry Keir said. Bank of the West also expected to retain almost all of Commercial Federal's 2,800 employees. The bank's parent company already employs 10,000 workers, including the payroll of another subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank.
"Although the sign on the door will change, Commercial Federal customers will find the same familiar faces in their branches," said Don McGrath, BancWest's chief executive. McGrath also plans to explore other possible acquisitions in the markets served by Commercial Federal branches.
Bank of the West established a toehold in the Midwest last year with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Community Bankshares Inc., based in Fargo, N.D., which had 184 branches in 10 states, including Utah.
After its latest takeover is done, Bank of the West expects to have $64 billion in assets, more than 4 million customers and 739 branches in 20 states. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. and Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. are the only larger banking companies with headquarters in the West.