Imperial Bank, Angeles Form Management Firm

Imperial Bank announced Thursday that it has taken its first step into the securities management field by creating a financial management company to handle assets of $3.5 billion in partnership with Angeles Corp., a diversified investment management company.

The new financial management organization will be a holding company for First Pacific Advisors, now an Angeles subsidiary that manages $2.2 billion in securities portfolios, and Imperial Trust Co., an Imperial Bank subsidiary that controls trust assets of $1.3 billion.

Imperial Bank has 11 commercial offices, all in California, and is the principal subsidiary of Imperial Bancorp, a Los Angeles-based holding company with assets of more than $1.5 billion. Angeles Corp. is a diversified management company whose subsidiaries, including First Pacific, manage assets of $3.5 billion in securities, real estate and other areas for 180,000 individual investors.

Under a letter of intent signed by the two companies to form the holding entity, Imperial Bank will pay $20 million in cash to Angeles and $10 million worth of preferred stock in the new company.

The companies said there would be no change in staff or management at either subsidiary, and Imperial Bank and Angeles Corp. will remain independent while “jointly and equally” controlling the new entity.

A second tier of the transaction, however, calls for Imperial Bank to lend Angeles up to $25 million in exchange for stock purchase options that would allow Imperial to eventually acquire 100% of Angeles in the next two years, H. Wayne Snavely, executive vice president of Imperial Bancorp, said.

“This is our first attempt to enter the securities business, and we feel it is a very opportune transaction,” Snavely added.

The transaction is still subject to review by regulatory authorities and independent evaluations by investment bankers.