Bank of Ventura Sale to First Bank Approved

Bank of Ventura shareholders have approved its sale to First Bank, which ends the local ownership of the 12-year-old financial institution, said Joseph D. Kreutz, the bank’s president and chief executive.

Shareholders will receive about $26.45 per share when the sale becomes effective Thursday.

Kreutz said the St. Louis-based First Bank and Trust is buying the Bank of Ventura for one of the highest cash prices for a bank of its size in California.