Jan 9, 2013 1:22 PM PT
Hanmi Financial Corp. (HAFC), the second- largest U.S. bank catering to Korean-Americans, is looking for a buyer and hired DelMorgan & Co. to advise on a sale, said three people with knowledge of the matter.
The lender may attract interest from BBCN Bancorp Inc. (BBCN) and Wilshire Bancorp Inc. (WIBC), which like Hanmi are based in Los Angeles and target Korean-Americans, said two of the people, who asked not to be named because the process is private. Hanmi rose more than 8 percent today, giving the firm a market value of about $481 million. It has assets of about $2.8 billion.
Hanmi, led by Chief Executive Officer Jay Yoo, is pursuing a sale less than two years after its takeover by South Korean lender Woori Finance Holdings Co. collapsed. Hanmi may draw interest again from Woori, as well as South Korea’s Hana Bank, both seeking expansion in the U.S., the people said. The lender was founded more than 30 years ago and operates in areas such as San Diego, San Francisco and Orange County.
Hanmi shares rose 8.1 percent to $15.26 as of 4 p.m. in New York.
Woori Finance agreed in May 2010 to buy Hanmi for as much as $240 million. That deal was terminated in June 2011, when the firms agreed to a business alliance instead. Officials at Woori and Hana declined to comment, while representatives at Wilshire and BBCN didn’t return calls seeking comment.
David Yang, Hanmi’s corporate strategy officer, didn’t return a call seeking comment. Rob Delgado, co-founder of DelMorgan, declined to comment. Delgado helped found the Santa Monica, California-based investment-banking boutique in 2011.
Enforcement Actions
Hanmi has 27 branches in California. Its shares had gained 76 percent in the year through yesterday as the company recovered from steep commercial loan losses in 2009 and 2010.
BBCN is the largest Korean-American-focused bank, with $5.3 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, according to SNL Financial, a bank-research firm in Charlottesville, Virginia. Wilshire is the third-largest with $2.6 billion in assets.
The California Department of Financial Institutions and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco lifted late in 2012 two enforcement actions placed on Hanmi in 2009. The actions had required Hanmi to maintain certain capital levels and restricted the bank from paying dividends, increasing debt and changing its businesses plan without regulatory permission.
Hanmi also last year began to draw down a nearly $80 million deferred tax allowance, or pool of money that represents a tax benefit a company can’t recognize unless it is healthy.
The drawdown sharply enhanced the company’s book value, which was $364 million as of Sept. 30, up almost 80 percent from a year earlier, according to the company’s third-quarter earnings report.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-09/hanmi-said-to-seek-sale.html?cmpid=yhoo
BBCN:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=82999913
WIBC:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=83745467
Learn something new every time you invest...and take it with you to the next opportunity.
Recent HAFC News
- Hanmi Financial Declares Cash Dividend of $0.25 per share and Announces New Share Repurchase Authorization • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/25/2024 12:30:02 PM
- Hanmi Reports 2024 First Quarter Results • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/23/2024 08:05:03 PM
- Hanmi Financial Corporation Announces First Quarter 2024 Earnings and Conference Call Date • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/09/2024 08:05:31 PM
- Hanmi Releases 2023 Annual Shareholder Letter • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 04/04/2024 08:30:00 PM
- Form POS AM - Post-Effective amendments for registration statement • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/29/2024 09:32:01 PM
- Form 10-K - Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/29/2024 08:13:59 PM
- Form POSASR - Post-effective Amendment to an automatic shelf registration statement • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/29/2024 06:11:35 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/26/2024 09:06:32 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/01/2024 11:13:08 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/31/2024 01:31:10 PM
- Form 3 - Initial statement of beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/26/2024 06:33:07 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/25/2024 02:58:20 PM
- Hanmi Financial Declares Cash Dividend of $0.25 per share • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/25/2024 01:30:00 PM
- James Marasco Appointed to the Board of Hanmi Financial Corporation • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/25/2024 01:30:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 01/23/2024 09:05:34 PM
- Hanmi Reports 2023 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/23/2024 09:05:00 PM
- Hanmi Financial Corporation Announces Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings and Conference Call Date • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 01/09/2024 09:05:00 PM
- Hanmi Bank Celebrates Grand Opening of Its New Dublin, CA Branch with Local Community • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 12/06/2023 02:00:00 PM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 11/08/2023 05:43:02 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 11/06/2023 01:02:05 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/27/2023 11:27:34 PM
- Hanmi Financial Declares Cash Dividend of $0.25 per share • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 10/26/2023 12:30:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/24/2023 08:06:59 PM
- Hanmi Reports 2023 Third Quarter Results • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 10/24/2023 08:05:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/20/2023 05:27:19 PM
Bantec Reports an Over 50 Percent Increase in Sales and Profits in Q1 2024 from Q1 2023 • BANT • Apr 25, 2024 10:00 AM
Cannabix's Breath Logix Alcohol Device Delivers Positive Impact to Private Monitoring Agency in Montana, USA • BLO • Apr 25, 2024 8:52 AM
Kona Gold Beverages, Inc. Announces Name Change to NuVibe, Inc. and Initiation of Ticker Symbol Application Process • KGKG • Apr 25, 2024 8:30 AM
Axis Technologies Group and Carbonis Forge Ahead with New Digital Carbon Credit Technology • AXTG • Apr 24, 2024 3:00 AM
North Bay Resources Announces Successful Equipment Test at Bishop Gold Mill, Inyo County, California • NBRI • Apr 23, 2024 9:41 AM
Epazz, Inc.: CryObo, Inc. solar Bitcoin operations will issue tokens • EPAZ • Apr 23, 2024 9:20 AM