CHULA VISTA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FPTB), the holding
company for Pacific Trust Bank, announced today that, in conjunction
with the Company’s just completed $60.0 million private placement,
Gregory A. Mitchell was appointed as President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Company. Mr. Mitchell succeeds Hans R. Ganz, who will
remain President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Trust Bank. In
addition, Mr. Mitchell and Steven Sugarman were appointed as directors
of the Company.
Mr. Sugarman is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of COR Capital
LLC, a Southern California based investment firm. Previously, Mr.
Sugarman founded a $2 billion investment advisory firm focused on public
equities and worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and
an investment advisor at Lehman Brothers.
The Company has entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Mitchell,
the terms of which will be described in a Current Report on Form 8-K to
be filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
accordance with his employment agreement, as an inducement material to
his entering into employment with the Company, Mr. Mitchell was granted
a ten-year option to purchase 300,000 shares of the Company’s common
stock at an exercise price per share of $11.35. The option is scheduled
to vest in one-third annual increments on November 1, 2011, 2012 and
2013. The vesting of any then-unvested portion of the option will
accelerate if Mr. Mitchell’s employment is terminated by the Company
without “cause” or if he resigns for “good reason,” as those terms are
defined in the employment agreement. The option grant was approved by
the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors in
reliance on NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), which exempts employment
inducement grants from the general requirement of the NASDAQ Listing
Rules that equity-based compensation plans and arrangements be approved
by stockholders.
First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered in Chula Vista, California
with nine banking offices serving primarily San Diego and Riverside
Counties in California.
Source: First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc.
Contact:
First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc.
Gregory A. Mitchell, President and CEO
619-691-1519