Spokane-based lender acquires San Diego bank

Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank is acquiring Security Business Bank of San Diego, AmericanWest said Tuesday.

AmericanWest expects to pay $26 million for the San Diego bank under the terms of the transaction, which still must be approved by regulators.

“Security Business Bank is a very healthy, successful bank so we’ll make a good pair,” AmericanWest spokeswoman Kelly McPhee in an email. “It gives them higher lending limits and more room to grow by partnering with us and it gives us more locations in the San Diego region – adding to the four we already have there.”

AmericanWest operates more than 70 branches in Washington, Idaho, Utah and California, the bank said in the news release. Security Business Bank operates four branches in the San Diego area.

The Spokane bank had assets of $2.3 billion and deposits of $2 billion on Dec. 31; Security Business Bank had assets of $233 million and deposits of $181 million as of that date.

GoDaddy.com leader to speak

GoDaddy.com’s chief scientist, Dave Koopman, will be the featured speaker at today’s Innovation Show hosted by Spokane networking company LaunchPad INW.

The event begins at 11:30 a.m. and continues into the evening at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley.

Koopman will discuss technology innovation from noon to 1 p.m. Afternoon sessions will feature area tech leaders, followed by a trade show and a networking party. Admission is $35, free for LaunchPad members. For details go to www.launchpadINW.com.

Micron explosion injures seven

BOISE – Authorities say an explosion at Micron Technologies in Boise resulted in minor injuries to seven people and led to the brief evacuation of 200 workers.

Fire Chief Dennis Doan said the explosion Tuesday was powerful enough to move a concrete wall.

Fire officials say the explosion involved a piece of research and development equipment located two floors below ground.

Airline seeks to end contracts

CHICAGO – The parent company of American Airlines asked a bankruptcy court on Tuesday to dump its labor contracts with an eye toward accelerating negotiations on the job cuts the airline says it needs, or ultimately making those cuts through the bankruptcy process.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines and American Eagle regional jets, has been negotiating with its unions for pilots, flight attendants and other workers on consensual cutbacks, en route to some 13,000 job cuts and $1.25 billion in cost reductions.

As the court considers the request to void union contracts, the airline will continue working on consensual job concessions with unions, he said.

Agency IDs data capacity

NEW YORK – The federal government has identified a large block of airwaves that can be freed to meet growing demand for movies, games and other data-intensive activities on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Wireless and technology companies have been clamoring for more spectrum. The 95 megahertz-wide band identified by the Commerce Department can support at least two new national wireless data networks.

But first, the government will have to find new homes for the agencies currently using that spectrum. That could involve sharing arrangements.