Scripps Sold as Bancorp Pushes Into California

U.S. Bancorp agreed to buy Scripps Financial Corp. of San Diego for $155 million in stock as the 12th-largest U.S. bank expands in California.

Scripps Financial, the parent of Scripps Bank, has nine branches in the San Diego area and $650 million in assets.

Under the agreement, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp will pay 1.067 of its common shares for each Scripps share. To guard against fluctuations in U.S. Bancorp’s stock price, the bank agreed to pay no less than $19.80 and no more than $24.21 for each Scripps share.

U.S. Bancorp is building its business in California through small acquisitions, most recently of the Bank of Commerce, Western Bancorp and Peninsula Bank. It currently has 17 branches in San Diego and almost 140 branches in California with about $5.5 billion in deposits.

Nationwide, U.S. Bancorp has about 1,000 branches and $83 billion in assets.

The purchase values Scripps shares at $22.27 each, based on today’s closing price of U.S. Bancorp shares, which rose 25 cents to close at $20.88 on the NYSE. That’s a 31% premium over today’s closing price for Scripps shares, which rose $3 to close at $17 on the American Stock Exchange.

Pending approvals by Scripps shareholders and regulators, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.