EL CENTRO, CA - January 22, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Today Community Valley Bank (“CVB”), a California state-chartered bank headquartered in El Centro, California and wholly-owned subsidiary of CMUV Bancorp (OTC: CMUV), announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Frontwave Credit Union (“Frontwave”). Frontwave will acquire the assets and assume the liabilities of CVB in an all-cash transaction. Community Valley Bank was founded in 2007 and currently operates five branches in El Centro, Brawley, Indio, Julian, and Borrego Springs, California. As of September 30, 2024, CVB reported $315.8 million in total assets, $258.4 million in total net loans, $276.3 million in total deposits, and $36.6 million in total equity.
Frontwave, a $1.4 billion member-owned financial cooperative, will benefit by adding new market areas in the San Diego and Riverside Counties it serves today while expanding into Imperial County, further diversifying its assets, and adding talent and expertise. The acquisition will also help Frontwave continue investments in new products and services while helping to fund the expansion of services to these additional new markets in Southern California.
CVB will benefit by gaining access to Frontwave’s full suite of consumer financial services including consumer banking and loans, credit cards, investments, insurance, and more. Frontwave will benefit with the addition of CVB’s more than seventeen years of business banking experience as it continues its roll-out business banking products and services for its membership in the markets it serves today.
Frontwave’s board of directors endorsed acquisition strategies as a component of the credit union’s future growth strategy. “We believe that quality growth and diversification is essential to continued success in our industry, and we intend to achieve it both organically and through mergers or acquisitions,” explained Bill Birnie, President and CEO of Frontwave Credit Union.
That strategy aligned well with CVB as it explored future options for the organization. “Frontwave has demonstrated its commitment to community banking, and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity we have to partner with Frontwave,” said Jon Edney, President and CEO of CVB. “I’m excited for Community Valley Bank employees to join together with Frontwave employees to enhance our financial services and resources for the communities and people we serve.”
Frontwave is committed to its new members and the new communities it will now serve. CVB customers will become members of Frontwave with full access to Frontwave’s extensive product and service offerings. “We’re excited to welcome Community Valley Bank customers as Frontwave Members and its employees to our Frontwave Dream Maker team,” Birnie added. “We believe this is a partnership of like- minded institutions. We saw early on that Community Valley Bank exhibits the same alues in the low desert that has made us the best bank in the high desert in the Morongo Basin for so long. It’s a perfect combination.”
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both institutions and is expected to close the second half of 2025, subject to receiving all regulatory approvals, approval by the shareholders of CMUV Bancorp, and other customary closing conditions.
After the completion of the proposed transaction, the combined organization will have more than $1.7 billion in assets and serve over 130,000 members at 18 locations throughout San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties. Deposits of Frontwave will continue to be federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
Subject to the terms and conditions of the definitive agreement, Frontwave will acquire substantially all the assets and assume substantially all of the liabilities of CVB for cash consideration of $56.4 million, subject to certain adjustments. As part of the purchase price, Frontwave will also cover substantially all of CVB’s expected federal income tax liability associated with the sale of its assets in the transaction.
Following the purchase and assumption transaction, CMUV Bancorp and CVB intend to wind down and dissolve. Based on CVB’s outstanding shares on a fully diluted basis as of January 21, 2025, and taking into consideration the anticipated satisfaction of certain obligations of CMUV Bancorp and CVB excluded from the purchase and assumption transaction, including holding company indebtedness and tax liabilities, CMUV Bancorp expects that its shareholders would be entitled to receive approximately $25.00 per share upon liquidation, subject to certain adjustments.
Frontwave is represented by Honigman, LLP as legal counsel and Olden Lane as financial advisor. CVB is represented by Breakwater Law Group, LLP and Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP as legal counsel and Performance Trust Capital Partners as financial advisor.
About Community Valley Bank
Community Valley Bank was founded in 2007 and currently operates five branches in El Centro, Brawley, Indio, Julian, and Borrego Springs, California. As of September 30, 2024, CVB reported $315.8 million in total assets, $258.4 million in total net loans, $276.3 million in total deposits, and $36.6 million in total equity. Learn more at yourcvb.com.
About Frontwave Credit Union
Frontwave Credit Union is a member-owned not-for-profit financial cooperative with thirteen branches in San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. Frontwave provides financial services to over 125,000 members, with assets exceeding $1.4 billion. Frontwave Credit Union has been named San Diego’s Best Credit Union and Morongo Basin’s Best Bank, has been honored with the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Credit Union of the Year Award, and is a ten-time recipient of the Peter Barron Stark Award for Workplace Excellence. To learn more, visit frontwavecu.com.
Contact:
Jon A. Edney
7603521889
mediarelations@yourcvb.com
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