Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC)

[56Chevy]

The Law Firm of Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Announces Investigation into Possible Breaches of Fiduciary Duty by the Board of Pacifi...

Levi & Korsinsky is investigating the Board of Directors of Pacific Capital Bancorp (“Pacific Capital” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PCBC) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with the sale of the Company to UnionBanCal Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Pacific Capital shareholders will receive $46 for each share of Pacific Capital stock they own. The transaction has a total approximate value of $1.5 billion.

http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=51589295

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Good luck finding legacy shareholders upset with the BoD over this deal. Below is a review of how things stood for just 3 short years ago prior to Mr. Ford coming in with a plan to save the bank.

Employees were losing thier jobs: March 19, 2009 - Pacific Capital Bancorp to cut 300, or 22%, of jobs

http://articles.marketwatch.com/2009-03-19/news/30964074_1_pacific-capital-bancorp-tel-aviv-pcbc

Shareholders had lost 99% in value : NEW YORK -- December 19, 2010

The Securities Arbitration Law Firm of Klayman & Toskes (“K&T”),
www.nasd-law.com, announced today that it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Pacific Capital Bancorp (“Pacific Capital”) (NasdaqGS:PCBC) shareholders who held concentrated positions in Pacific Capital stock with full-service Wall Street brokerage firms. On October 9, 2007, Pacific Capital stock was trading at $28.22 per share. However, by November 2009, the price of Pacific Capital stock declined over 99%, closing at under a dollar per share. As a result, many Pacific Capital shareholders who held concentrated positions in Pacific Capital sustained substantial losses.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=PCBC:US&sid=aD7oe7zAevAU

Financials statements from 2007 show a bank headed for a cliff:

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/PCBC/financials

PCBC was selling off chunks of the business to infuse capital:

Dec 24, 2009 - Pacific Capital Bancorp Announces Planned Sale of Refund Anticipation Loan and Refund Transfer Businesses

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Pacific_Capital_Bancorp_(PCBC)/News/742621/Pacific_Capital_Bancorp_Announces_Planned_Sale_of_Refund_Anticipation_Loan_and_Refund_Transfer_Businesses

Banks were failing at an alarming rate...many never did find investors willing to help out. Keep in mind that in 2009 & 2010 investing (on the $500 Million dollar scale that Mr. Ford was about to) came with no guarantees of success. The economy could have easily slid into a full blown depression. Risks were very high.

Bank failures to keep rising in 2010

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The continuing fallout from bad loans made in good years means even more U.S. banks will fail in 2010 than 2009, despite a recovering economy.

That's the prediction of bank analysts who see as many as 200 institutions closing this year, at a potential cost of more than $50 billion to taxpayers, as risky loans approved in 2006 and 2007 take their toll.

And that represents a projected 43% increase in closures from 2009, which saw 140 failures, the most since 1992 when the U.S. was recovering from the savings and loan crisis.

http://articles.marketwatch.com/2010-02-05/industries/30693708_1_bank-failures-texas-ratio-bank-stocks

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I wasn't a pre-2010 shareholder but I think if I was I would rather give Mr. Ford & Co a great big wet kiss...not hand them a lawsuit!