BancWest goal: Be among nation's top 25 banks
| • | Lawsuits say BNP Paribas stock offer 'unfair' |
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
The chairman and chief executive of BancWest Corp. said yesterday that he intends to double the company's size over the next several years, making it one of the 25 biggest banks in the country.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Walter Dods said the plan would increase the Honolulu-based bank's assets to more than $40 billion and position it to take part in major lending deals across the country.
BancWest chairman Walter Dods plans to increase the Honolulu-based bank's assets to more than $40 billion and position it to take part in major lending deals across the country.
"We want to become a top-25 bank in the United States," Dods said yesterday while discussing details of the offer by the Paris-based banking giant BNP Paribas to buy the 55 percent of BancWest it doesn't already own.
The French bank, that country's largest, is offering BancWest shareholders $35 a share for their holdings. BancWest's board of directors approved the $2.5 billion offer at a meeting Monday night.
Dods said much of the expansion to build BancWest into a super-regional bank would be through acquisitions. He said it is too early to comment on what those might be.
For the plan to work, however, BancWest needs to first complete the acquisition by BNP Paribas SA.
The deal is subject to shareholder and federal regulatory approval, expected to take several months.
Dods called the deal "bittersweet," saying he had wanted to keep the bank independent but BNP's offer was too "compelling." As part of the deal, Dods said he agreed to stay on as CEO for three more years under contract.
Dods is expected to make about $30 million on the deal, before taxes, from BancWest stock he owns and other stock options.
He said he plans to pay bills and use some of the money for charities he supports.
