Covington Represents MidFirst Bank in Acquisition of 1st Century Bancshares

NEW YORK — Covington represented MidFirst Bank in its acquisition of 1st Century Bancshares, Inc. 1st Century is a publicly traded bank-holding company of 1st Century Bank of Los Angeles.

Simultaneously with the closing of the acquisition, 1st Century Bank will be merged into MidFirst Bank.  Following these transactions, the business of 1st Century Bank will continue to operate under the 1st Century brand as a division of MidFirst Bank National Association.

The merger, expected to close in the second half of 2016, has been approved by the boards of directors of both banks and holding companies and is subject to customary conditions including stockholder and regulatory approvals. Under the terms of the agreement, 1st Century Bancshares, Inc. stockholders will receive cash of $11.22 per share.

The Covington team advising on the transaction included a corporate deal team led by partner J. D. Weinberg, with associates Allison Schiffman and Daud Munir.  Advice was also provided by partner Scott Smith (corporate), partner Keith Noreika, with associate Randy Benjenk (bank regulatory); partner Michael Francese, with associate Valerie Hughes (employment); partner Robert Heller (tax); senior of counsel Don Elliott, with associate Kamila Lis (environment); and of counsel Heather Haberl (real estate).