NEW YORK — CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) has completed its acquisition of IMB Holdco for $3.4 billion in cash and stock. IMB Holdco is the parent company of OneWest Bank. The combined company has more than $65 billion in assets and more than $30 billion of deposits.
The merged company will now operate as CIT Bank. The company operates an Internet banking franchise, as well as a network of 70 retail branches throughout Southern California as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank.
New York-based CIT Group will continue to be led by John Thain, chairman and CEO. Steven Mnuchin, former chairman of IMB Holdco, joined CIT Group as vice chairman and a member of its board of directors. Al Frank, a former independent director of OneWest Bank, is joining the CIT Board, which will grow from 13 to 15 members.
“The completion of this transaction advances our strategic efforts to build a leading commercial banking franchise,” says Thain. “Through the combination of our national lending and leasing platform with OneWest’s wholesale lending and branch banking franchise, we’ve created a differentiated provider of banking services for small and middle-market businesses.”
The transaction has received all required regulatory approvals. Per the agreement, IMB Holdco shareholders received about $1.867 billion in cash and about 30.9 million shares of CIT, as well as about 168,000 restricted stock units of CIT.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisor to CIT, while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as CIT’s legal counsel. Goldman, Sachs & Co., Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP represented IMB Holdco. Sullivan & Cromwell served as joint regulatory counsel for CIT and IMB Holdco LLC.
CIT is a financial holding company with more than $65 billion in assets. It provides financing, leasing and advisory services to middle-market companies across more than 30 industries in North America. It also provides equipment financing and leasing solutions to the transportation sector.
CIT’s stock closed at $47.04 on Friday, July 31, down from $49.10 just one year ago.
— Nellie Day