San Francisco-based Bank of the West – which has over 500 branches including Chadron, Gordon, Alliance, and Bridgeport – has been sold.
BNP Paribas, the largest bank in France with a $70-billion dollar market cap, is selling Bank of the West to Canada’s BOM- Bank of Montreal – for $16.3-billion dollars.
BOM shares fell 2% yesterday in morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with some analysts saying the acquisition price was a little steep.
BOM disagreed, insisting the deal will immediately add to its earnings, despite $1.3 billion dollars in merger costs.
Bank of Montreal hopes to replicate the U-S success of its Canadian rival Toronto-Dominion, popularly known as TD Bank.
The Bank of the West deal brings it 1.8-million customers, most of them in economically-resilient California.