ECB Bancorp Inc. in Engelhard, N.C., said Thursday that its shareholders had approved several proposals that were needed for the company's $80 million private placement.
Shareholders of the $941.5 million-asset company had to approve the private placement and authorize a new class of convertible non-voting common stock, according to a regulatory filing. "Obtaining shareholder approval of these proposals is a very important step for us to complete our capital raise," A. Dwight Utz, the company's president and chief executive, said in a press release. "We are now awaiting the necessary bank regulatory approvals in order to consummate the private placement."
Pacific Investment Management Co., Patriot Financial Partners and Endicott Management are the institutional investors fueling the recapitalization.
Utz said in a recent interview with American Banker that ECB plans to use the funds for organic growth, de novo branching and acquisitions. While he admitted that the first two objectives will take time, ECB is getting a head start on the buying front as it aims to grow to $3 billion to $5 billion in assets over the next three to five years.
