CBC Bancorp in Irvine, Calif., has agreed to buy Bay Community Bancorp in Oakland.
The $2.4 billion-asset parent of Commercial Bank of California said in a press release that it will pay about $121 million in cash, based on the $975 million-asset Bay Community’s shares outstanding. The deal is expected to close late this year or in early 2025.
Bay Community was the first financial institution in California to be certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
The acquisition “will create a unique banking franchise that better serves our employees and clients,” Ash Patel, Commercial Bank’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the release. The merger “will create a transformative business bank with expanded product offerings driven by the purpose to serve our communities across California.”
Community Bank of the Bay will maintain its brand as a division of Commercial Bank. William Keller, the bank’s CEO, will chair a new advisory board.
Raymond James and Husch Blackwell advised Commercial Bank. Janney Montgomery Scott and Spierer, Woodward, Corbalis & Goldberg advised Bay Community.