CPB launches $125M stock buyback
The parent of Central Pacific Bank was set to launch a $125 million share repurchase program Friday.
The state’s fourth-largest bank will buy back up to $68.8 million worth of its common stock in an auction tender offer, and repurchase up to $28.1 million of shares from each of its two largest shareholders, Carlyle Financial Services Harbor LP and ACMO-CPF LLC ("Anchorage").
Carlyle and Anchorage were the lead investors who each purchased $98.6 million worth of Central Pacific Financial Corp. stock in February 2011 at the price of $10 a share as part of the bank’s $325 million recapitalization. Carlyle and Anchorage each currently own 22.5 percent of the company’s 42,108,496 outstanding shares.
Under the tender offer, Central Pacific is offering to purchase up to $68.8 million of its shares at a price range that is not greater than $21 nor less than $18.50 per share. The offer will expire at noon Hawaii time on March 21 unless extended by the company. The tender offer allows shareholders to indicate how many shares and at what price they wish to tender their shares within the specified share price range.
Central Pacific’s stock closed up 9 cents Thursday at $18.59 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Hawaii has 5 contenders for Beard Awards
Semifinalists for the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards Restaurant and Chef Awards include five from Hawaii. Of 30 contenders, MW Honolulu, in the former KGMB-TV building on Kapiolani Boulevard, was nominated in the best new restaurant category, and co-owner Michelle Karr-Ueoka was nominated among 20 candidates for outstanding pastry chef.
Honolulu’s two rising star chef of the year candidates among 25 semifinalists are Chris Kajioka of Vintage Cave and Andrew Le of The Pig and the Lady.
Ed Kenney, chef-owner of Town, has been named a semifinalist for best chef: West, and is among 20 nominees including well-known TV chefs Ludo Lefebvre, chef-owner of Trois Mec in Los Angeles, Tyler Florence of Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco and Michael Chiarello of Bottega in Yountville, Calif. The best chef category is broken out into 10 regional segments.
A list of finalists likely will be announced in March, and the annual James Beard Award winners will be named in May.
Wal-Mart has weak outlook as sales slow
NEW YORK » Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, on Thursday posted a 21 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit and gave a subdued forecast for the current year as it continues to be weighed down by a number of factors.
Winter has been marked by severe weather and slow spending over the holidays. Growing competition from dollar stores and grocers also has chipped away sales. And the latest headache? Wal-Mart said the Nov. 1 expiration of a temporary boost in food stamps is hurting its shoppers’ ability to spend.
Walmart earned $4.43 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the quarter that ended Jan. 31. That compares with $5.6 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier. Revenue, which excludes its membership fees at the company’s Sam’s Club division, was up 1.4 percent to $128.79 billion.
Wealth gap widest in some affluent cities
WASHINGTON » The gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the United States’ most prosperous and largest cities.
The economic divides in Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are significantly greater than the national average, according to a study released Thursday by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. It suggests that many sources of both economic growth and income inequality have co-existed near each other for the past 35 years. These cities may struggle in the future to provide adequate public schooling, basic municipal services because of a narrow tax base and "may fail to produce housing and neighborhoods accessible to middle-class workers and families," the study said.
ON THE MOVE
Hawaii National Bank has appointed Bryan Luke as president and chief operating officer. He joined the bank in 2006 and was promoted to executive vice president in 2009. Luke previously worked for Standard & Poor’s and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he provided financial consulting services.
CW Associates CPAs founding partner Carl Williams has announced:
>> Terri Fujii has joined the firm as an audit partner. She served 27 years with Ernst and Young and was recently the former office managing partner for the firm.
>> Melanie King as a tax partner. She was previously managing the Trust Tax Department at Bank of Hawaii. Her experience also includes 11 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Retail Merchants of Hawaii board of directors has elected three new members: Bob Charlet, publisher of Pacific Business News; David Striph, senior vice president for the Howard Hughes Corp.; and Francis Tulu, founder of CompuTant and DataNet Pacific.
