Territorial in Hawaii again rejects unsolicated investor bid

Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu doubled down on its commitment to selling itself to Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles despite an increased offer from a shareholder group.

The $2.2 billion-asset Territorial said in a press release that the offer from a group led by Allan Landon and Blue Hill Advisors has “so many unanswered questions” and “remains highly uncertain and inferior” to its existing agreement with the $18.1 billion-asset Hope.

Territorial’s board “already carefully considered the [unsolicited] proposal on two separate occasions, and each time rejected the proposal for a number of reasons,” Allan Kitagawa, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the release.

Territorial said it still believes the the Blue Hill offer to be inferior because it relies on investments from unnamed investors, lack of evidence that the investors can secure regulator approval, depends on the completion of a tender officer and includes conditions such as due diligence.