The shareholders of Commercial Federal have approved the acquisition of the bank by Bank of the West, a BNP Paribas’ subsidiary. Over 79% of the votes went in favor of the deal, worth US$1.36 billion.
The shareholders will receive $34 dollars in cash per share and an extraordinary dividend of 50 cents per share. The deal also received the approval of the regulatory authorities and should be completed on 2nd December.
This is a further step in BNP Paribas expansion in the western United States through BancWest, its wholly owned subsidiary. Following the acquisition of Commercial Federal, BancWest will have more than 4.2 million accounts and 739 branches (against 541 before). BancWest will operate in a total of 20 states, representing 100 million inhabitants with projected demographic growth that is among the highest in the United States.