Astoria in N.Y. to Pay Off $125M in Debt

Astoria Financial (AF) in Lake Success, N.Y., is planning to redeem $125 million in debt.

The $16.5 billion-asset company said Wednesday that it will use proceeds from last month's sale of preferred shares to redeem trust-preferred debt on which it pays higher interest. It will pay a 3% premium on the $125 million liquidation amount, plus accumulated interest, to redeem the securities on May 10.

Astoria pays 9.75% for the debt. In comparison, it will pay 6.15% interest for the $150 million in depositary shares it sold last month.

Astoria has been identified by some analysts as a potential acquisition target because of recent efforts to emphasize multifamily and commercial lending.

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