PrivateBancorp Postpones Shareholder Vote on CIBC Offer

By Judy McKinnon

PrivateBancorp Inc. said Wednesday it had postponed a shareholder vote on the proposed $3.8 billion cash-and-stock takeover offer from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce due to market conditions that have pushed the Chicago-based lender's shares higher over the past few weeks.

The special meeting of PrivateBancorp shareholders, originally planned for Thursday, is now expected to be held early in the first quarter of next year, the U.S. lender said.

"In view of the significant changes to trading market conditions over the past few weeks, we believe it is in the best interests of all of PrivateBancorp's stockholders to have additional time to consider the value and long-term strategic benefits of this transaction," PrivateBancorp Chairman James Guyette said in a release. He said the bank remains committed to the takeover.

CIBC, Canada's fifth-largest lender by assets, agreed in June to buy PrivateBancorp in a bid to expand in the U.S. to help fuel growth. Its cash-and-stock offer at the time had valued the deal at $47 a share, or a 31% premium over PrivateBancorp's closing price of $35.93 on June 28, the day before the offer was announced.

Shares of PrivateBancorp closed at $52.14 in its most recent trading session, up about 45% since CIBC first announced its offer of $18.80 in cash plus 0.3657 of a CIBC share for each PrivateBancorp share. Shares of U.S. banks have surged since the U.S. election on hopes that President-elect Donald Trump will ease some of their regulatory burdens.

CIBC, which last week raised its dividend and posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, closed Tuesday at $82.42 in New York, up nearly 7% from when the offer was announced. Based on its latest closing price, CIBC's cash-and-stock offer values PrivateBancorp shares at nearly $49 each.

CIBC said it believes its offer provides "significant immediate and long-term value" to the shareholders of PrivateBancorp.

"We remain committed to this transaction on the agreed terms, which were established by both companies based on our analysis of the fundamental, long-term merits of the combination," CIBC Chief Executive Victor Dodig said in a release.

CIBC said both it and PrivateBancorp are continuing to work on obtaining regulatory approvals and developing integration plans for their operations.

Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 07, 2016 09:37 ET (14:37 GMT)

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