Western Alliance Bancorporation and Bridge Capital Holdings announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement pursuant to which Western Alliance Bancorporation will acquire Bridge Capital Holdings. Immediately following the completion of the acquisition, Bridge Capital’s principal operating subsidiary, Bridge Bank, will merge with and into Western Alliance Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Alliance Bancorporation. Following the bank merger, Western Alliance plans to operate its Northern California offices and the existing Bridge Bank offices as a combined division under the Bridge Bank trade name.
The Agreement provides that each shareholder of Bridge Capital Holdings will receive 0.8145 of a share of Western Alliance Bancorporation and $2.39 in cash for each share of Bridge common stock owned. In aggregate, the transaction is valued at approximately $425 million, including certain unvested restricted stock awards and stock options previously issued by Bridge Capital that will be converted to Western Alliance equity awards under the terms of the Agreement.
Robert Sarver, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Western Alliance Bancorporation, commented, “We’re delighted to be combining our resources with Bridge Capital. Dan Myers and his team have built a fast growing, well-managed organization that substantially strengthens our Northern California presence, while providing new avenues for growth in technology and international services. Bridge Bank’s exceptional funding profile and low cost of deposits provide the rare opportunity to improve our liquidity and margins simultaneously.”
Sarver continued, “We believe this combination will create significant value for Western Alliance shareholders, both immediately and longer term, and are very excited to add Bridge’s innovative products and model to our platform.”
Daniel P. Myers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Capital Holdings, said, “We’re very excited at the growth opportunity this partnership with Western Alliance Bank represents for Bridge Bank. Our momentum is strong coming into this merger, and the additional resources it brings will allow us to better support our growing roster of business clients, and accelerate our expansion in all of our business lines and markets we serve.”
This transaction has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of Bridge Capital Holdings and banking regulatory authorities. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. acted as financial advisor to Bridge in this transaction.
