in Brief: California's SDN Bancorp Making $24M Acquisition

signed a definitive agreement to acquire Huntington Beach-based Liberty National Bank for $24.5 million in cash. SDN's principal shareholder, Dartmouth Capital Group LP, is a party to the agreement and is expected to fund the purchase. Members of Liberty National's board, who control 21% of the stock, have agreed to vote for the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter. The deal is for 1.3 times book value. The merger would almost quadruple SDN's assets to more than $200 million.