Holding company Territorial Bancorp Inc. has officially changed ownership after Los Angeles-based Hope Bancorp Inc. finalized its merger with Hawaii’s fifth-largest bank.
The acquisition, which became effective Wednesday after a nearly yearlong struggle, calls for Territorial Savings Bank to operate under the trade name Territorial Savings, a division of Bank of Hope.
“We are excited to have completed this combination and to officially welcome Territorial customers and team members to the Bank of Hope family,” Hope Bancorp President and CEO Kevin S. Kim said in a statement. “With the addition of Territorial Savings, Bank of Hope has become the largest regional bank catering to multi-cultural customers across the continental United States and Hawaii.”
As part of the deal, Territorial shareholders have the right to receive 0.8048 shares of Hope Bancorp common stock in exchange for each share of Territorial common stock they own. Hope’s stock, which closed Friday at $9.36 a share, has ranged over the past 52 weeks from a high of $14.54 to a low of $9.04, and is down nearly 22% from the beginning of 2025. Hope’s annualized dividend yield is 6%.
The acquisition moved forward when the two companies received regulatory clearances and after Territorial shareholders approved a management-recommended takeover by Hope over a
rival bid by investors who lobbied heavily for a self-described better deal. An
advisory firm representing investors led by former Bank of Hawaii CEO Allan Landon had asked for Territorial’s board and shareholders to reject Hope’s $8.82-per-share, all-stock offer in favor an all-cash bid by the investors offering to pay Territorial shareholders $12.50 per share — a sweetened bid from an original cash offer of $12 a share.
The journey to acquire Territorial began April 29 when Hope and Territorial signed a definitive merger agreement that valued the acquisition of about $78.60 million based on the closing price of Hope’s stock on April 26.
Territorial, founded in 1921, had $2.17 billion in assets as of Dec. 31. It operates 28 branches on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island.
Hope, a Korean American bank, had $17.05 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, Prior to the Territorial deal, it operated 46 branches in California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Georgia.
