U.S. Bancorp to Acquire Pacific Century Branches

U.S. Bancorp, owner of Firstar Banks and U.S. bank, agreed to buy 20 Pacific Century Financial Corp. branches in Southern California for an undisclosed amount of cash.

U.S. Bancorp will buy the branches through U.S. Bank, gaining $640 million in deposits, $570 million in loans and 300 employees, the company said. Officials at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp couldn’t be reached to comment.

The acquisition will help U.S. Bank expand in Southern California, boosting its presence to 164 branches. Honolulu-based Pacific Century, owner of Bank of Hawaii, said in April that it planned to sell its California branches and most of its South Pacific and Asian holdings to focus on businesses in Hawaii.

At the time of the announcement, analysts estimated that Pacific Century’s California business could fetch as much as $175 million.

In NYSE trading, U.S. Bancorp rose 9 cents to close at $22.84, and Pacific Century rose 31 cents to close at $25.21. The news was released after the close of trading.