Center Financial makes Atlanta deal

Center Financial Corp., a Los Angeles-based bank that caters to Korean American customers, said Tuesday that it had agreed to buy a similarly focused institution in the Atlanta area for $65.2 million in cash and stock.

The company being acquired, First Intercontinental Bank, is a 7-year-old bank based in Doraville, Ga. It operates four branches serving Asian Americans and had $232 million in assets as of June 30.

Center Financial is the parent of Center Bank, which has more than $1.9 billion in assets, with 16 branches in California, one in Seattle and one in Chicago.

Jae Whan Yoo, chief executive of Center Financial, said the deal would create “an excellent platform” from which the company could expand into the Southeast and East Coast.

The agreement was announced after markets closed. Center Financial’s shares rose 75 cents, or 4.9%, to $16.16 in regular trading, then jumped 84 cents to $17 in after-hours trading.

First Intercontinental, an over-the-counter stock, last traded in August for $12. The deal values its shares at $22.27, the companies said.