Anybody notice that my Schwab account showed FFNW price to be 9 and change after close. It went back to closing price shortly there after but I thought maybe a partial sale was completed.
Anybody see anything on this?
Randy
Long FFNW
I did not see that in my Fidelity account or on Finchat over the wekeknd when i was working with both. I did see an unusual spike in volume - almost 500k shares traded last Friday.
Vince
No news on the payout and merger recently. I was expecting to hear something by now.
Nothing this morning. All looks normal and no sign of the price drop.
Don’t really get it, but clearly it wasn’t real.
I also am waiting for this transaction to conclude.
Randy
Long FFNW
Yes, it’s been a couple months and no announcement that Global has received approval from the NCUA for the merger (that I’ve seen).
Jim
They are scheduled to report earnings on 10/24, so maybe an update then. The price has climbed to the bottom of the original deal’s announced lower price target of 23.10. Something’s going on.
Vince
Lots of activity among officers with options - The president exercised 50k shares and sold half. Other senior guys sold 2/3 of the grants that they exercised. Price was around $23 - maybe that was the spike in shares traded last week.
Me, I decided to sell a third of my position. Short term total gain for shares purchaesd AFTER the deal was announced is about 12%.
Vince
3 Likes
That’s not a bad haul for buying after the deal was announced.
I closed out my position at $23.11, just above the estimated low end of the range.
Jim
2 Likes
Hi Jim.
I sold a little bit of position back when it hit $13 as well but now have watched as it has fallen back to the low $22 and change level.
So last week I added back to my position. I certainly haven’t seen anything to say the deal will not happen and a roughly 5% return in what seems to be a short time table (months at most?) seemed like a good bet.
The icing on the cake at least for me was the government filing from Blackrock that they had taken a 5.7% stake in the company. It seems like if there was a substantial risk of the deal falling through Blackrock wouldn’t be there.
Anybody know something I don’t?
Randy
Long FFNW
1 Like
I sold all at 22.90+ and am a little surprised that there has been no commentary by the company other than to suggest months ago that a closing by 9/30/24 was a possibility. I’d be cautious at the low 22s, as there is no longer a dividend. Returns are under 4% right now with the stock at 22.27, so I am waiting to see something right at 22 before I jump back in.
At this point it seems like they’re just waiting on NCUA approval, as of the latest report. Of course, they were waiting on that in the prior quarter’s report as well.
Blackrock is just filling out something for funds that own the stock. I view it as meaningless. This is not some activist with special knowledge, etc.
Jim
3 Likes
Hi Jim.
I guess I didn’t think that Blackrock was taking an activist position, more a case of them believing the deal was going to happen and a place park some funds for a profit. It’s always comforting to think some smart people are of a similar mind as me.
In any case, the price is back up to $22.70 or so. With the very low volumes of this very small bank, I guess the price just moves a bit.
Since my shares are in an IRA I am tempted to sell again hoping to buy back in around $22.15. Mostly just playing games but……
Randy
Long FFNW and wondering how much longer it will take to close.
Randy,
The 22.15 to 22.70 ride is a frictionless 2.5% per month nominal interest - I like that. The low probability/high impact failure to get the deal done is a risk I would take at this juncture. In fact, in the last month, the stock has broken 22 going down and 23 going up 3 times each.
2 Likes
22.25 was achievable today - I jumped in at 22.29.
Vince
2 Likes
Hi Vince, our conversation convinced me to do the same thing. I sold a portion earlier this week at 22.70 and bought it back at 22.20 a few days ago (almost the same day). I now have a gtc to resell at 22.75. We shall see how long that takes. If they ever do close I may miss a jump to a higher price but I still have plenty of shares I will benefit from in that instance too.
Another fun game to play.
Randy.
1 Like
In case you all didn’t see yesterday’s 8-K:
1) What is the current status of the sale of FFNWB’s assets to Global Credit Union?
FFNWB and Global continue to work toward a closing. At this time, the necessary regulatory approvals from FFNWB’s banking regulators have been received; however, Global continues to pursue regulatory approval from its regulator, the National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA.
2) When will Global receive approval from the NCUA?
We do not know at this time when regulatory approval from the NCUA will be received, and there is no assurance that it will ultimately be received.
3) When will the transaction be completed?
Given that all regulatory approvals have not yet been received, we currently expect the transaction to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. However, the final timing of the completion of the transaction has not been determined and will depend upon the timing of regulatory approvals.
4) If I am a shareholder of FFNW, what consideration can I expect to receive?
We previously disclosed that our expected range of consideration to be distributed to shareholders in one or more payments following the completion of the transaction would be an aggregate amount of approximately $23.06 to $23.59 in cash for each share of the Company’s common stock. That range was based on numerous assumptions, including that the transaction would be completed in the third quarter of 2024. Given the delay of closing and changes to certain other estimates used in determining the expected range, we now expect the consideration payable to shareholders in one or more payments to be in the lower end of the previously announced range. As before, our estimates are based upon numerous assumptions, and the consideration distributable to shareholders is subject to a number of adjustments. Accordingly, shareholders should not assume that the ultimate per share distribution to shareholders will be equal to or greater than $23.06 per share.
Source: 8-K – First Financial Northwest Inc. – BamSEC
Cheers,
Matt
Long FFNW
4 Likes
Matt, thanks for the update! It’s good that the company disclosed this information.
Jim
2 Likes
I am really a little confused from the quarterly message. I totally understand that the final value could drop a little with the length of time it takes to close. What I don’t understand is why it is taking so long to close. This is a piddling small bank being acquired by a very small bank. How could it possibly be considered as a problem to combine. So why is the NCUA holding up the approval? . I can’t imagine any problems here. So what is the deal.
I did sell the portion of my position I was trading in and out between 22.20 and 22.70 when the news of the closure was taking longer but still have a decent position here and am a little frustrated that this hasn’t closed.
What is everyone else’s thoughts?
Oh and Merry Christmas!
Randy
Long FFNW
2 Likes
I am totally in agreement and am betting that there is no fire despite the smoke - which may prove to be a bad bet. Even so the stock fell to as low 21.20 even with the company affirming 23 and change as the target payout. They also said that payment could come in more than one instalment, so that matters.
Coming up on a year since the buyout was announced.
Vince
3 Likes
Yes, the gambling side of me was thinking I should add my trading position back with it dropped to the low $21’s. But haven’t done that as of yet and it appears to be rebounding a bit.
Randy
Long FFNW
2 Likes