Capital Corp. of the West in Merced, Calif., said Monday that it is expanding farther south in the state's Central Valley with a deal to buy the 11 California branches of National Bank of Arizona, a unit of Zions Bancorp., for $27.4 million.
The deal is "an important next step" in the $1.8 billion-asset Capital Corp.'s expansion in the San Joaquin Valley to Bakersfield, Thomas T. Hawker, its chief executive, said in a press release.
Most of National Bank of Arizona's branches in California are located from Merced to Tulare, a farming community between Fresno and Bakersfield.
The $5.5 billion-asset National Bank of Arizona has nearly 80 branches in Arizona.
The 11 California branches, which operate under the California Stockmen's Bank brand, would be merged into Capital's Corp.'s County Bank.
The branches have about $211 million of deposits and other liabilities, as well as about $171 million in loans and other assets.
The deal's price is a 13% premium on deposits. Capital Corp. said the acquisition should be minimally accretive to this year's earnings but should add about 14 to 16 cents a share to next year's earnings.
The deal is expected to close in November.
