December 15, 2015 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investigation on behalf of investors, who currently hold shares of Wilshire Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WIBC), was announced concerning whether the takeover of Wilshire Bancorp Inc by BBCN Bancorp, Inc is unfair to NASDAQ:WIBC stockholders.

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

On December 7, 2015 BBCN Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBCN) and Wilshire Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WIBC) jointly announced the signing of an agreement to combine in a strategic merger of equals creating the only super regional Korean-American bank in the United States. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Wilshire Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WIBC) shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7034 of a share of BBCN Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBCN) common stock or a consideration of approximately $13.00 per Wilshire Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:WIBC) share in exchange for each share of NASDAQ:WIBC common stock they own in a 100% stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.0 billion.

However, given that at least one analyst has set the high target price of NASDAQ:WIBC shares at $15.50 per share, the investigation concerns whether the offer is unfair to NASDAQ:WIBC stockholders. More specifically, the investigation concerns whether the Wilshire Bancorp 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.
Wilshire Bancorp Inc reported that its Net Income of $45.38 million in 2013 increased to $59.01 million in 2014.