Connect with us

Hawaii

Central Pacific's deal talks for American Savings in Hawaii stall

Published

on

Central Pacific's deal talks for American Savings in Hawaii stall


The CEO of Central Pacific Bancorp in Honolulu said the bank recorded $3.1 million in pretax expenses “related to our evaluation and assessment of a strategic opportunity.”

Adobe Stock

Central Pacific Bancorp in Honolulu, reportedly in talks this year to buy Hawaiian Electric’s American Savings Bank, said deal discussions are now on ice.

“While the parties are no longer currently engaged in discussions, we remain interested in the opportunity under the right terms and conditions,” Central Pacific Chairman and CEO Arnold Martines said Wednesday during the $7.4 billion-asset bank’s third quarter earnings call.

Advertisement

He said Central Pacific recorded $3.1 million in pretax expenses “related to our evaluation and assessment of a strategic opportunity.”

He did not name American Savings. When asked by an analyst for more detail, Martines said, “At this point, we cannot comment on this further. We just can’t comment further about it.”

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg in September reported that Central Pacific was in discussions with multiple alternative asset managers to help buy the $9.3 billion-asset American Savings from Hawaiian Electric, the utility under scrutiny for its role in the August 2023 Lahaina wildfires that devastated a town on the island of Maui and killed more than 100 people.

Central Pacific reported third-quarter net income of $13.3 million, or 49 cents per share. Those results compared with net income of $13.1 million, or 49 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding the expense hit related to the deal talks, Central Pacific said its adjusted net income was $15.7 million, or 58 cents per share.

Advertisement

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Hawaiian Electric was looking to sell American Savings to create a cash buffer against dozens of lawsuits across state and federal courts. Many of the complaints accused the utility of sparking the blazes that ultimately caused more than $5 billion of property damage.

After that report, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Lonegan noted that the bank was in a strong financial position and had suffered minimal direct impact from the fires. “We would value the bank in the range of $600-$800 million in these circumstances,” Lonegan said.

American Savings, also based in Honolulu, on Wednesday reported third-quarter net income of $18.8 million, up from $11.4 million a year earlier. As a unit of Hawaiian Electric, it does not hold an earnings call.

“We remain well-positioned to support our customers and community for the long term, with a strong capital and liquidity position, strong credit quality, and ample lending capacity,” Ann Teranishi, president and CEO of American Savings, said in the bank’s earnings release.

Hawaiian Electric is scheduled to report earnings and hold a call with analysts on Nov. 8.

Advertisement

Earlier this month, authorities culminated an investigation with a report blaming the Lahaina fire on Hawaiian Electric. The report from the Maui Fire Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the disaster was started from a blaze caused by broken power lines.

“We deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire. … We have looked closely at our protocols and actions that day and have made many changes in our operations and resilience strategies to ensure we fulfill our commitment to keep the public safe, especially in extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe,” Hawaiian Electric said in a statement.

American Savings is not the only Hawaiian bank on the potential sale block. The $17.4 billion-asset Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles agreed in April to an all-stock deal valued at $78.6 million to buy Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu. Hope said its offer priced Territorial at $8.82 per share and that it expected to close the transaction by Dec. 31. 

The seller’s shareholders are slated to vote on the pending sale to Hope on Nov. 6. Approval is hardly a sure thing, however, given there is a competing offer on the table. An investor group led by Blue Hill Advisors and former Bank of Hawaii CEO Allan Landon made a competing offer in August. Its initial cash bid valued Territorial at $12 per share. It has since upped that to $12.50 per share. 

More than 100 banks announced plans to sell in 2024. That put the industry ahead of last year’s total of 98 deals, according to updated data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Advertisement

One of the biggest transactions of the year was announced this month. Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Virginia, said it would acquire Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Maryland, for $1.6 billion of stock. It marked the third-largest bank acquisition announced this year by deal value.

Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Corp.’s May announcement that it would pay $2 billion in stock to acquire Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, was the largest bank deal to date in 2024. Kansas City-based UMB Financial’s April plan to purchase Heartland Financial USA in Denver in an all-stock transaction valued at just under $2 billion was second.



Source link

Hawaii

Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is underway at Kīlauea | Maui Now

Published

on

Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is underway at Kīlauea | Maui Now


December 23, 2025, 9:01 PM HST

[V1cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (west Halemaʻumaʻu crater) VC: USGS

Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 8:10 p.m. HST on Dec. 23, according to an update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Sustained lava fountains approximately 100 feet in height are currently erupting from both north and south vents, with increasing heights.

Advertisement

Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1,000 feet high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet above ground level.  According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the southwest. 

[V3cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (south Halemaʻumaʻu crater) VC: USGS
  • All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park; commercial airports in Hawai’i County (KOA and ITO) will not be affected by this activity.
  • Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
  • KPcam and MKcam provide views of the plume height for aviation purposes

Episode 39 was preceded by overflows of degassed lava that began at approximately 6:41 p.m. from the south vent and continued to increase in intensity until 8:10 p.m., when sustained fountaining began, according to the HVO.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days. 

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Hawaii

Former teammates will square off as coaches for Hawaii and Cal in the Hawaii Bowl

Published

on

Former teammates will square off as coaches for Hawaii and Cal in the Hawaii Bowl


HONOLULU — A pair of former college teammates will face off when Hawaii takes on California in the Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday.

Hawaii coach Timmy Chang and Cal interim coach Nick Rolovich were quarterbacks at Hawaii and teammates for two seasons in 2000-01.

Chang made 50 career starts in four years, while Rolovich started 12 games over two seasons.

“I’m grateful to be here with Timmy, so much great history with us,” Rolovich said on Monday.

Advertisement

He pointed out that the 15,000-seat Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex where they’ll play on Christmas Eve sits on what previously served as the Rainbow Warriors’ practice facility, Cooke Field, where Rolovich was first introduced to Chang.

“I think that makes it even more special, that the game’s not only played in Hawaii, but played kind of right there in that spot,” Rolovich said.

Chang, in his fourth year leading Hawaii (8-4), said he and Rolovich were roommates on the road in their playing days.

Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang in the first half during an NCAA football game against Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri

“We ended up building a close bond,” he said. “I got to learn so much from this guy here, just watching him go through everything that a college student-athlete goes through, the ups, the downs. There’s so many things that I learned from Rolo. … (We were) just kids at 18 to 20, 21 years old, coming together and now look at us here. It’s special, it really is.”

Advertisement

Bowl-ing season

Hawaii will be making its 15th bowl appearance and its 10th in the Hawaii Bowl. The last postseason appearance for the Rainbow Warriors came in 2019, when they beat BYU in the Hawaii Bowl. They earned a bid to their hometown bowl in 2021, but were forced to withdraw due to COVID issues within the program.

Cal (7-5) will be playing its 27th bowl game. It earned bids to the LA Bowl in each of the past two seasons, but lost to Texas Tech in 2023 and UNLV a year ago. The Golden Bears are seeking their first eight-win season since 2019.

Inside the numbers

Both teams have found success passing the ball this season. Hawaii ranks ninth in the FBS in passing offense at 289.7 yards per game, while Cal’s average of 270.8 yards ranks 21st. Opponents have averaged 197.1 passing yards against the Golden Bears, the 37th best mark in the country, while Hawaii has surrendered an average of 218 yards through the air (62nd in FBS).

Cal ranks last (134th) in rushing offense at a mere 76.5 yards per game. Hawaii’s 104 rushing yards per game ranks 125th nationally.

Southpaw slingers

Both starting quarterbacks are left-handed and hail from neighboring towns on the west side of the island of Oahu. Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who has passed for 3,117 yards with 20 total touchdowns, is a true freshman from Ewa Beach, while Hawaii’s Micah Alejado calls Kapolei his hometown. The redshirt freshman has logged 2,832 yards through the air and tallied 22 total TDs.

Advertisement

All-Americans

Cal defensive back Hezekiah Masses and Hawaii placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa each received All-America recognition for their respective senior campaigns. Masses recorded five interceptions, 18 passes defended and 43 tackles en route to an AP second-team selection, while Matsuzawa converted 25 of 26 field goals and all 37 of his extra-point attempts to earn AP first-team honors.

Change at the top

Rolovich was named interim coach after Justin Wilcox was fired on Nov. 23. Just six days after the coaching change, Cal upset then-No. 21 SMU 38-35 with Rolovich at the helm. On Dec. 4, the school announced the hiring of Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi as the program’s coach. Rolovich will remain on staff for the Golden Bears as quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach.



Source link

Continue Reading

Hawaii

Hawaii Bowl attendees advised to take public transit to avoid traffic, parking

Published

on

Hawaii Bowl attendees advised to take public transit to avoid traffic, parking


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Planning to go to the Hawaii Bowl? City leaders are encouraging fans to utilize public transportation.

The Hawaii Bowl will take place Christmas Eve in front of a sold-out crowd at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

To help attendees get to and from the game, the city Department of Transportation Services (DTS) is ramping up bus services that connect Skyline’s Ahua Lagoon rail station and the UH Manoa campus.

Advertisement

“We want fans focused on the game, not on traffic or parking. TheBus and Skyline offer the safest and easiest way to get to UH Manoa and back home to celebrate the holiday with family,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said.

Regular TheBus U Line service (Ahua Lagoon Drive Skyline Station–UH Manoa via the H-1 Freeway) will operate throughout the day.

To improve travel for game attendees, DTS will also run additional U Line service every 15 minutes between 12:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.

Along with the U Line and Skyline, the A Line (Ahua Lagoon Drive Skyline Station – UH Manoa) will be running regular weekday service between the Ahua Lagoon Drive Station and Sinclair Circle at UH Manoa.

Fans can also reach UH Manoa on Routes 1, 1L, 4, 6, and 13.

Advertisement

DTS encourages riders to plan ahead using the Transit App to map out routes, check arrival times, and stay on top of travel options.

Regular fares will be in effect for Skyline and TheBus. All annual and monthly fares are valid for Skyline and TheBus.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending