First Citizens BankShares has agreed to buy Silicon Valley Bank, the California lender that served as lifeblood of thousands of startups and whose collapse sent shockwaves through the financial sector, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Monday.
The deal includes the purchase of about $72 billion assets of Silicon Valley Bank at a discount of $16.5 billion. About $90 billion in securities and other assets of the California-based lenders will remain “in receivership of disposition” by the FDIC.
The announcement comes weeks after the FDIC seized control of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 after a run on deposits made the lender insolvent. The 17 former branches of Silicon Valley Bank will open as First Citizens Bank on Monday, the FDIC said.
The regulator had earlier transferred all SVB deposits into a new “bridge bank” to protect depositors. The Federal Reserve provided a relief to the depositors of the lender earlier this month after ensuring it will fully protect them. Depositors gained access to all of their money starting March 13.
“In addition, the FDIC received equity appreciation rights in First Citizens BancShares, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, common stock with a potential value of up to $500 million,” the FDIC said in a statement.
Before the collapse, the Silicon Valley Bank was the 16th largest bank in the U.S. Its meltdown was the largest bank failure in the U.S. since the 2008 financial crisis.
“First Citizens has a proud history of growing organically and through strategic acquisitions that build our core capabilities in a careful and deliberate manner,” said Frank B. Holding, Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens, in a statement.
“This transaction leverages our solid foundation to add significant scale, geographic diversity, compelling digital capabilities and most importantly, meaningful solutions for customers throughout their lifecycle. Specifically, we are committed to building on and preserving the strong relationships that legacy SVB’s Global Fund Banking business has with private equity and venture capital firms. This transaction also will accelerate our expansion in California and introduce wealth capabilities in the Northeast. SVB’s Private Wealth business is a natural fit for our high-touch and sophisticated level of high-net-worth customer service and approach.”
First Citizens to acquire Silicon Valley Bank by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch
