It was announced on April 18 that on April 3, 2012, Pacific Western Bank completed the acquisition of Celtic Capital Corporation, an asset-based lending company based in Santa Monica, CA. Celtic focuses on providing asset-based loans to borrowers in the $5 million and under loan market in the United States. Pacific Western Bank acquired all of the capital stock of Celtic for $18 million in cash. The seller was PineTree Equity Partners.

Celtic’s tangible net assets at March 31, 2012 on a pro forma basis totaled approximately $9 million. At April 3, 2012, Celtic had approximately $56 million in gross loans outstanding, with no loans on non-accrual status. In addition, Pacific Western Bank assumed $47 million in outstanding debt, which was repaid on the closing date. The weighted average yield on Celtic’s loan portfolio as of the acquisition date was approximately 18% and its weighted average remaining maturity was seven months.

Celtic will operate under the name Celtic Capital Corporation as a subsidiary of Pacific Western Bank. Pacific Western has retained all 26 of Celtic employees.

Milestone Advisors served as financial advisor to Pacific Western Bank in connection with this transaction.

PacWest is a bank holding company with $5.4 billion in assets as of March 31, 2012, with one wholly owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank. Pacific Western Bank provides commercial banking services, including real estate, construction and commercial loans, to small- and medium-sized businesses.

To read PacWest’s earnings report, which announces the acquisition, click here.