Alliance in Virginia Close to Securing Votes for WashingtonFirst Sale

Alliance Bankshares (ABVA) has received almost all of the votes it needs to approve its sale to WashingtonFirst Bankshares, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Unlike many other public companies, Alliance's bylaws require that two-thirds of the Chantilly, Va., company's shares vote in favor of a merger. As of Dec. 14, Alliance had received 89% of the amount needed, the Journal reported in its online edition Friday. Shaza Andersen, WashingtonFirst's president and chief executive, told the publication that her company has already obtained the simple majority that its bylaws required.

Official results for WashingtonFirst will be released on Monday, and for Alliance on Wednesday. If approved, the deal will close on Dec. 21.

WashingtonFirst, a $596 million-asset company in Reston, Va., agreed to buy Alliance earlier this year for $24 million in cash and stock. It's the second acquisition agreement Alliance has reached in the past year; the $522 million-asset company had agreed to sell to Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) of Bethesda, Md., but the deal was later scrapped because of "irreconcilable differences."