Calif.'s 6 Rivers Near Deadline on Rival's Bid

Six Rivers National Bank of Eureka, Calif., has until Tuesday to accept an unsolicited, $31 million bid from in-town rival Humboldt Bancorp.

Humboldt, which has $330 million of assets, recently offered to buy $200 million-asset Six Rivers for $20.57 per share. In a letter to the Six Rivers board last week, Humboldt said it would rescind the offer on Tuesday.

The bid is Humboldt's fourth for Six Rivers since January 1997. It maintains that a merger would benefit the community and shareholders of both banks.

Six Rivers, which is attempting to recover from a $1.125 million loss in 1998, has rebuffed previous overtures, saying the bank could fetch a higher price if it improves its asset quality and earnings.

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