After struggling to obtain regulatory approval for a substantial cash infusion, Hanmi Financial Corp. is looking elsewhere to continue raising its capital levels.
The Koreatown institution, the holding company for Hanmi Bank, announced last week that it has amended its exclusivity agreement with South Korean financial conglomerate Woori Finance Holdings Co. to allow Hanmi to negotiate with other investors.
In May, the institutions announced that Woori would take an ownership stake in Hanmi by investing as much as $240 million in the bank, which had been struggling with heavy loan losses and had been ordered by regulators to raise capital. Hanmi already raised $120 million from Woori in July through a stock offering. The remaining capital, however, requires regulatory approval because it would give Woori a majority stake.
The deal, however, has yet to receive approval from banking regulators. And analysts are skeptical it will ever be approved because Woori is partly owned by the South Korean government.
The July infusion brought the bank back into well-capitalized status under regulatory guidelines. However, the bank would like to raise the rest of the money.
Brian Cho, Hanmi’s chief financial officer, said his bank has been approached by multiple potential investors since the exclusivity clause has been lifted. Though management still hopes to complete the Woori deal, Cho said this amendment allows Hanmi to keep its options open.
“We cannot wait for Woori approval forever,” he said. “We have time, but we have to consider every possibility. The more capital the better at this moment in the uncertain economy.”
Alex Cappello, who helped arrange the Woori deal, said the capital markets have loosened for banks, leaving Hanmi in decent shape even if the Woori deal is not approved.
“If they want more capital they should have no problem getting it,” said Cappello, managing director of Santa Monica investment bank Cappello Capital Corp.
Busy Buyer
November was a busy month for Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.
With the local mergers and acquisitions market picking up, the Beverly Hills private equity firm announced two acquisitions over the past month, including the $91.5 million purchase of Santa Cruz Nutritionals, a maker of gummy-based nutritional products. The firm financed the acquisition out of its $1.1 billion fourth fund.
Levine Leichtman followed up its Santa Cruz purchase with the $50 million acquisition of Revenew International LLC, a Houston-based company offering auditing services.
Founded in 1984, Levine Leichtman, which manages $5 billion of institutional capital, targets companies with growth potential and strong management in a variety of industries.
Dealmaker Degree
Pepperdine University’s business school has teamed up with group representing M&A professionals to offer a credentialing program for middle-market dealmakers.
The Graziadio School of Business and Management will offer the weeklong program this February in conjunction with the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. The program, which will examine topics such as business valuation and growth financing, costs $3,500 and is open to all interested applicants.
Participants in the program who pass an exam at the end of the course will receive the “gold standard” certification from the M&A organization.
Douglass Gore, a spokesman for the Graziadio school, said this is the first time the association has teamed with a local university.
“They have a partner in the Midwest with the DePaul (business) school, but we’re the only West Coast partner,” Gore said.
The Graziadio school plans to offer additional courses in the spring and fall.
C-Suite News
Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad announced last week that he will join L.A. private equity firm Pacific Capital Group as vice chairman and managing director. Delshad, who was elected to his second term earlier this year, plans to split time between the mayor’s office and Pacific Capital until his term runs out in March. … Manhattan Bancorp, the El Segundo holding company for Bank of Manhattan, has hired Terry Robinson as chief executive. … SharesPost, a Santa Monica company that operates an online marketplace for investors in nonpublic companies, has hired David Weir as chief executive. Greg Brogger, the founder and previous chief executive, will continue to serve as president. … Jennifer Oliver, the former chief executive of downtown L.A.’s California Bear Credit Union, has assumed the same position at South Bay Credit Union in Redondo Beach. California Bear has promoted Robert York, vice president of marketing, to the vacant chief executive position. … George Smith Partners Inc., an investment banking firm in Century City focused on the commercial real estate sector, has hired Eric Hamermesh as senior vice president.
Staff reporter Richard Clough can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.
