Sierra Bancorp, the holding company of Bank of the Sierra, announced the completion of its acquisition of OCB Bancorp, the parent of Ojai Community Bank, headquartered in Ventura County, through the merger of OCB  Bancorp with and into Sierra Bancorp. Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement dated April 24, 2017, Ojai Bancorp shareholders received aggregate merger consideration of approximately $35.8 million, primarily in the form of shares of Sierra Bancorp common stock based on a volume-weighted average price of $25.20 per Sierra Bancorp share. The exchange ratio for the transaction is 0.55511 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock for each share of OCB Bancorp stock. Immediately following the acquisition, OCB Bancorp’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ojai Community Bank, was merged into Bank of the Sierra.  Bank of the Sierra now has $2.3 billion in assets and operates 39 full-service branches, as well as an online branch, real estate industries center, an agricultural credit center and an SBA center.

This acquisition serves as an excellent opportunity for customers, employees, and shareholders of OCB to take advantage of a wider variety of products and services as well as the convenience of Bank of the Sierra’s growing network of branches and ATMs throughout Central and Southern California.

“We are excited to welcome the employees and customers of Ojai Community Bank, and each of its divisions, to Bank of the Sierra. Many thanks to the teams from both banks who have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition for our new customers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties,” said Kevin McPhaill, president and CEO of Bank of the Sierra.

Advisors

Sierra Bancorp was advised in the transaction by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, as financial advisor and King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP as legal counsel. OCB Bancorp was advised in the transaction by FIG Partners, LLC, as financial advisor and Loren P Hansen, APC as legal counsel.


About Sierra Bancorp & Bank of the Sierra

Sierra Bancorp is the holding company for Bank of the Sierra (www.bankofthesierra.com), which is in its 40th year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services via 39 full-service branches located throughout California’s South San Joaquin Valley and neighboring communities, on the Central Coast, and in Southern California locations including the Santa Clara Valley. They also maintain an online branch, and provide specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center, a real estate industries center, and an SBA center.