HONOLULU - BNP Paribas is paying its investment banking adviser, Merrill Lynch & Co., $5.5 million for advising on the proposed takeover of BancWest Corp., according to a preliminary proxy filing by the Honolulu banking company with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday.
BancWest will pay its adviser, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., $6.2 million, or 0.25% of the $2.5 billion deal.
On May 8, BancWest announced that its board had agreed to sell the remaining 55% stake in the company not already owned by BNP to the French banking company for $35 a share in cash, or a 40% premium to its stock price.
In the filing, BancWest also reported that the deal was struck through a series of meetings starting in March. BNP Paribas originally offered $32 a share, but BancWest's had wanted $37, according to the filing.
Merrill Lynch has already received $4 million of its fee, and the remainder will be paid when the deal closes, the filing said.
