Grandpoint to Acquire Another California Bank

A Los Angeles company formed two years ago to roll up community banks continues to do just that.

Grandpoint Capital announced late Monday that it is buying NCAL Bancorp, the holding company for the National Bank of California, a $341 million-asset bank with five branches in southern California. The deal would be Grandpoint's ninth — and seventh in California — since it was established with roughly $75 million of capital and would boost its assets to roughly $1.8 billion.

"This is another outstanding opportunity for Grandpoint to partner with a bank that has a similar business focus and a well established banking office network that complements our own," said Don M. Griffith, the chairman and chief executive officer of Grandpoint Capital and its Grandpoint Bank, said in a news release.

National Bank of California would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Grandpoint Capital and its management would remain intact.

The total deal price will depend on both National Bank of California's capital levels and credit quality at the time it closes and its performance two years down the road. Had the deal closed May 31, Grandpoint would have paid $1.45 for each NCAL share, or roughly $3.4 million, but the price could rise or fall based on a range of factors.

NCAL shareholders could potentially be paid even more in 2014 if the company recovers certain loans that are now past due and reduces its overall expenses. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.