Bridgewater Bancshares in Bloomington, Minn., is looking to go public.
The $1.6 billion-asset company filed a prospectus on Friday to sell common stock, though it did not disclose the number of shares it plans to sell or the pricing.
Bridgewater said the proceeds would raise its legal lending limit, allowing it to make bigger loans. The company could also use proceeds to repay debt and open branches, among other things. Bridgewater is planning to open a branch in St. Paul, Minn., in the second quarter and a real estate development office in St. Louis Park, Minn., later this year.
Bridgewater has raised capital before, including a $42.5 million investment from affiliates of private equity firms Castle Creek Capital, EJF Capital, Endeavour Capital Advisors and GCP Capital Partners.
Bridgewater, which has six branches, focuses on lending to borrowers in the Twin Cities metro area across a range of industries and property types, according to the prospectus. Almost a quarter of its portfolio was made up of multifamily loans; roughly 16% involved commercial and industrial loans.
The company's earnings rose 28% in 2017 from a year earlier, to $16.9 million.
