Imperial Gets IRS Approval for Spinoff

Imperial Bancorp said it has received Internal Revenue Service approval to spin off part of its entertainment and specialty-lending businesses to shareholders in a tax-free transaction. Imperial Bancorp, the Los Angeles-based parent of Imperial Bank, said the distribution will take place once financing and other regulatory approvals are secured. The new company, Imperial Financial Group Inc., would include the Lewis Horowitz Organization, which lends to independent filmmakers; the bank’s small-business finance unit; Imperial Trust Co., which manages about $8 billion in assets; and Imperial’s 24% stake in Imperial Credit Industries Inc., a specialty finance company. George Graziadio Jr., chairman, president and chief executive of Imperial Bancorp, would be the company’s chairman. Robert Franko, Imperial’s chief financial officer, would be president. Shares of Imperial Bancorp, which has about $4.5 billion in assets and 11 bank offices in California, fell 38 cents to close at $32.25 on the NYSE.