Posted on: Wednesday, June 11, 2003

Rival banks in Delaware for tally

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

Final results are due today for the CB Bancshares shareholder vote to reject rival Central Pacific Bank's hostile merger offer.

Delaware vote-counting firm IVS Associates Inc. was to begin the final tallying of the vote at 10 this morning at its headquarters in Newark. Representatives of Central Pacific and City Bank planned to be on hand.

The vote took place on May 28 and is surrounded by controversy over whether enough shares were voted. Central Pacific and CB Bancshares officials say they have representatives in Delaware, prepared to challenge and defend ballots on a case-by-case basis.

"Hopefully, the results will be the same as the previous two counts," said Wayne Miyao, spokesman for CB Bancshares.

The final vote results likely will determine the next step in Central Pacific's quest to take over its local competitor. Central Pacific has charged that the May vote on the $275 million offer did not meet a quorum, and therefore does not count.

CB Bancshares said the preliminary results showed it barely achieved quorum, with 50.3 percent of eligible shares being voted. CB Bancshares needed more than 50 percent to reach quorum.

Central Pacific, however, has challenged CB Bancshares' definition of a quorum. The would-be buyer called for a boycott of the vote, in an attempt to deny a quorum and show that a majority of shareholders support its position. CB Bancshares said it carried the day — but with only 29.4 percent of its shareholder base voting in its favor.

The rest either abstained (2.6 percent), voted in favor of Central Pacific (13.4 percent) or refrained from voting.

Central Pacific has said it may challenge the vote in court. It was pushing for a later vote date and said the May 28 vote didn't give CB Bancshares shareholders enough time to consider the merits of the $70-per-share takeover offer.

The vote is one of a series of steps necessary for Central Pacific to complete the takeover, which CB Bancshares has vowed to fight.