Shareholders of Cadence Financial Corp. Thursday approved the acquisition of the company by Texas-based Community Bancorp, in a deal that Cadence”s CEO said didn”t “provide any payout” to him or other executives.
Holders of 61 percent of Cadence”s stock voted. Of those voting shareholders, 89 percent were in favor of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011, according to a statement released by Cadence.
The acquisition will be accomplished through the merger of a newly formed subsidiary of CBC with and into Cadence, with Cadence functioning as the surviving corporation. Shareholders will receive $2.50 per Cadence common share.
“We are pleased that the acquisition by CBC was approved by 89 (percent) of Cadence”s voting shareholders,” Cadence Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lewis F. Mallory Jr. said. “We are also excited about the opportunity to join with CBC to continue our operations under the Cadence Bank name. We believe the capital injection by CBC provides a solid value for our shareholders, employees and customers, as well as local communities we serve.”
Mallory assured shareholders Thursday neither he nor Cadence President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Abernathy are “seeking any golden parachutes.” The terms of the transaction “do not provide any payout,” Mallory said.
Still, some Cadence shareholders were frustrated when they left the meeting Thursday. One man, who wished not to be named, didn”t necessarily believe Mallory”s claim.
“I heard that, but I hear a lot of things,” he said.
Community Bancorp LLC is a bank holding company, headquartered in Houston, Texas, which has raised equity capital commitments in excess of $900 million for the purpose of making investments in the U.S. banking sector, with a particular focus on community banks.
“The acquisition by CBC will allow us to continue serving our communities with our exciting employee team while having a strong financial partner to build our operations in the future,” Mallory said. “At Cadence Bank, we are committed to proactively providing financial solutions to our customers and resources to our communities in a personalized manner through knowledgeable and accountable banking professionals.”
Early this fall, Cadence agreed to be bought by Trustmark, but backed out of the deal and agreed to pursue the opportunity with Community Bancorp. Cadence has since settled a class action suit, brought by Cadence shareholder RSD Capital, which alleged Mallory, Abernathy, Cadence Financial Corp., Community Bancorp LLC, and 10 additional members of Cadence”s board of directors concealed details in a proxy statement to public shareholders in order to complete “a transaction which protects and advances the interests of Cadence”s management team who are using this opportunity to benefit themselves.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.