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Capital Bank Financial and National Bank Holdings priced their initial public offerings below the ranges they gave last week. Other banking companies have struggled in the IPO market this year.
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The bank, led by ex-Sovereign chief Jay Sidhu, cited uncertain market conditions.
May 8
What Jay Sidhu couldn't get from the public markets, he found in private placements.
Customers Bancorp, the Wyomissing, Pa., company led by Sidhu, closed a private placement of $85 million Thursday; it priced at $14 a share. Customers, which has assets of $2.3 billion, raised $15 million in a separate private placement in July and August.
The $14-per-share price tag for the two placements is 1.02 times the company's tangible book value and in the range Customers had expected to fetch in an initial public offering this year. It had planned to raise $92 million to $123 million at $13 to $15 a share in the IPO,
The $100 million in new capital is a 63% boost to the company's existing equity base. The proceeds will be used to support organic growth and general corporate purposes, Customers said in a news release.
"We are seeing solid loan growth and are committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet, so this offering made sense given the investor demand for our stock," Sidhu, the chairman and chief executive, said in the press release.
Sidhu is noted for
Sidhu has repeatedly vowed that Customers would focus on organic growth and selectively pursue deals. Since Sidhu took over in 2009, Customers has acquired two failed banks and an open bank.
Customers has two pending acquisitions: