Bank of Santa Clarita Acquired

 Southern California Bancorp announced Tuesday it will acquire Bank of Santa Clarita for $56.2 million, the San Diego business said.Bank of Santa Clarita shareholders will receive one share of Southern California Bancorp common stock in exchange for each of their shares. The stock transaction is valued at $56.2 million based on Southern California Bancorp’s stock price of $14.15; the value of the merger consideration will fluctuate based on stock price, the bank said.Once the acquisition is finalized, Southern California Bancorp shareholders will own 78 percent of the company’s shares while bank of Santa Clarita shareholders are expected to own 22 percent.Bank of Santa Clarita Chief Executive Frank Di Tomaso will join the board at Southern California Bancorp, a holding company, and its operating subsidiary Bank of Southern California.“On behalf of our board of directors, I am pleased to announce our merger into Bank of Southern California,” Di Tomaso said in a statement. “We share with them a banking culture focused on providing high-touch, personalized service to small and middle-market businesses, with a deep commitment to the markets and communities we serve. We believe this strategic partnership, with a shared vision of providing relationship-based banking to the middle-market, will benefit our shareholders, customers, employees and communities.”Added David Rainer, executive chairman of SCB: “The acquisition of Bank of Santa Clarita marks an important step in our strategy to grow our commercial banking model by expanding the bank’s footprint north of Los Angeles to the attractive banking communities of the Santa Clarita area.”The combined company will have approximately $2 billion in assets and deposits of $1.5 billion, according to a financial report Dec. 31.Shares of Bank of Santa Clarita (BSCA) increased 84 cents, or more than 6 percent, to close at $13.14 on the over-the-counter market. Southern California Bancorp (BCAL) shares fell 40 cents, or more than 2 percent, to close at $13.75 on the OTC market.