LOS ANGELES, April 17, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanmi Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:HAFC) ("Hanmi"), the holding company for Hanmi Bank, announced today that shareholders of Central Bancorp, Inc. ("CBI"), parent of Texas-based United Central Bank, overwhelmingly approved the merger with Hanmi. Of Central Bancorp's eligible voting shares, 88% were represented at CBI's special meeting of shareholders and 100% of those shareholders voted in favor of the merger.
"We are very pleased that CBI shareholders have voted to join Hanmi," said C. G. Kum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hanmi. "We believe the combination of our banks will create a strong franchise that will become one of the premier community banks serving not only Korean Americans, but also many other ethnic communities as well."
As of December 31, 2013, CBI had approximately $1.42 billion in assets, $0.64 billion in gross loans and $1.25 billion in deposits, and 23 branches across six states (Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California).
Under the terms of the agreement, the total merger consideration payable to CBI common stockholders is $50 million in cash, subject to potential purchase price adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2014. Excluding one-time merger expenses, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to 2014 earnings and significantly accretive to 2015 earnings and beyond; and is expected to generate an internal rate of return in excess of 20% for Hanmi shareholders.
About Hanmi Financial Corporation
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Hanmi Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hanmi Financial Corporation, provides services to the multi-ethnic communities of California, with 27 full-service branch offices in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Diego counties, and loan production offices in Texas and Washington State. Hanmi Bank specializes in commercial, SBA and trade finance lending, and is a recognized community leader. Hanmi Bank's mission is to provide a full range of quality products and premier services to its customers and to maximize stockholder value.
About Central Bancorp, Inc.
Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Garland, Texas, United Central Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Bancorp, Inc., serves multi-ethnic communities in Texas, Illinois, Virginia, California, New York and New Jersey through 23 banking offices. Additional information on Central Bancorp, Inc. and United Central Bank may be found on its website: www.unitedcentralbank.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "target," "forecast," and other words and terms of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Hanmi Financial Corporation cautions readers that any forward-looking statement is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed merger involving Hanmi Financial Corporation and Central Bancorp, including future financial and operating results, Hanmi Financial Corporation's or Central Bancorp's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: the ability to obtain the requisite Central Bancorp shareholder approvals; the risk that Hanmi Financial Corporation or Central Bancorp may be unable to obtain governmental and regulatory approvals required for the merger, or required governmental and regulatory approvals may delay the merger or result in the imposition of conditions that could cause the parties to abandon the merger; the risk that a condition to closing of the merger may not be satisfied; the timing to consummate the proposed merger; the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully; the risk that the cost savings and any other synergies from the merger may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; disruption from the transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; the diversion of management time on merger-related issues; general worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties; the effect of changes in governmental regulations; and other factors we discuss or refer to in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement and neither Hanmi Financial Corporation nor Central Bancorp undertakes any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.