Hanmi tweaks offer for Houston bank

SWNB Bancorp has postponed its shareholder vote to approve the Houston company’s sale to Hanmi Financial after the buyer revised the terms of the deal.

SWNB shareholders will now vote on the transaction on Aug. 28, or nearly two weeks after the vote was supposed to have taken place, the $411 million-asset company disclosed in a Monday regulatory filing.

Shareholders voted to move the meeting after Hanmi revised the terms of the deal, which was announced in May. Hanmi is increasing the cash component of its purchase to 30%. Lasse Glassen, a Hanmi spokesman, said the change was negotiated because the seller wanted more cash than the previous terms provided.

"The adjournment and reconvening of the meeting was necessary to enable SWNB stockholders to consider the revised terms of the merger and the transaction agreement," SWNB's board wrote in the filing.

Hanmi had previously planned to pay 80% in stock and 20% in cash. The Los Angeles company now expects to pay about $23.7 million in cash and issue about 1.9 million shares of common stock once the transaction is complete.

The $5.4 billion-asset Hanmi has received regulatory approval to complete the merger.

SWNB’s board encouraged investors to approve the merger, which is expected to close late in the third quarter.

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