July 1, 2016 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investigation on behalf of investors, who currently hold shares of PrivateBancorp Inc (NASDAQ:PVTB), was announced concerning whether the takeover of PrivateBancorp Inc by CIBC for a value of approximately $47 per share is unfair to NASDAQ:PVTB stockholders.

The investigation by a law firm concerns whether certain officers and directors of PrivateBancorp Inc breached their fiduciary duties owed to NASDAQ:PVTB investors in connection with the proposed acquisition.

On June 29, 2016, CIBC announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire PrivateBancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary. Under the terms of the transaction CIBC will pay US$18.80 in cash and 0.3657 of a CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) common share for each share of PrivateBancorp common stock. Based on the June 28, 2016 closing price of CIBCs common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (US$77.11), the total transaction value is approximately US$3.8 billion (C$4.9 billion) or US$47.00 of value per share of PrivateBancorp common stock at announcement.

However, the investigation concerns whether the offer is unfair to NASDAQ:PVTB stockholders. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether the PrivateBancorp Board of Directors undertook an adequate sales process, adequately shopped the company before entering into the transaction, maximized shareholder value by negotiating the best price, and acted in the shareholders' best interests in connection with the proposed sale.