United California Savings to Merge With CenFed : Banking: The Anaheim-based thrift’s directors will receive the bulk of $7-million minimum purchase price.

Money-losing United California Savings Bank has agreed to merge into CenFed Financial Corp. of Pasadena in a $7-million stock-and-cash deal.

Directors of the ailing thrift, which has lost more than $20 million in the past five years, own 80% of its stock and will receive the bulk of the $7-million minimum purchase price.

That price includes $1 million in cash, $6 million worth of CenFed stock once the merger is completed and an unspecified additional amount of CenFed stock upon sale of United California Savings’ $321-million mortgage portfolio.

The deal ends United California’s reign as one of Orange County’s oldest independently owned thrifts, but will keep the United California Savings name alive. The savings and loan was founded in 1921 as Anaheim Building & Loan Assn. CenFed plans to operate its eight branches in Orange and Riverside counties as a separate division under the United California Savings Bank name.

There are no plans to move United California Savings’ directors, including chairman and majority owner Larry Ulvestad, into positions with CenFed, said Steven P. Neiffer, a CenFed vice president.

Neiffer said CenFed plans to keep all of the United California Savings branch office employees but only “a few” of the Anaheim-based thrift’s corporate staff. United California Savings has 147 employees, but the breakdown of corporate and branch employees was not available Monday.

The acquisition requires approval of state and federal regulators, among other conditions.

Ulvestad--who was asked by federal regulators to step down as president and chief executive--was the third member of his family to hold the top operating position. The others were his mother, Dorothy Ulvestad, and grandfather, Fritz Yungbluth.

As of Feb. 28, United California Savings’ branches had combined assets of $458 million and deposits of $416 million.

CenFed, founded in 1927, had $1.5 billion in assets as of Dec. 31. The company’s thrift subsidiary, CenFed Bank, has 18 offices, including two in Orange County--one in Cypress and one in Placentia.