Talmer in Michigan Planning IPO

Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., is planning to go public.

The $4.7 billion-asset company and certain investors are planning to raise up to $230 million through an initial public offering. Talmer, backed by the billionaire Wilbur L. Ross, is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the stock symbol TLMR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and J.P. Morgan Securities will serve as the offering's underwriters.

Talmer said in a late Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would use some of its proceeds to pay off a $35 million unsecured line of credit that it recently used to recapitalize a bank. Any remaining funds could be used for a variety of purposes, including organic growth and acquisitions.

"We are involved in dialogue concerning the potential acquisition of a number of financial institutions," the filing said. "However, no agreements have been entered into regarding any possible transaction and there can be no assurance that any such transaction will occur."

The number of shares and the pricing of the offering have not been determined. The filing said that Ross, who is 76, will sell some of his 16.6 million shares in the company, but Talmer did not specify how much of his 24.1% stake he would sell. It doesn't appear that Ross plans to fully cash out; he remains a director.

Talmer said it values Ross' leadership and expertise. In the event it lost his services, "our business could suffer and the value of our common stock could be materially adversely affected if investors view the loss of his service as detrimental to our ability to execute our business strategy," the filing said.

Since Ross led an capitalization of Talmer in 2010, the company has completed five acquisitions, including the purchase of failed banks and institutions acquired through bankruptcy sales. It navigated the bankruptcy process to buy First Place Bank in Ohio.

Recently, Talmer bought the remaining banks held by the troubled Capitol Bancorp through a bankruptcy auction. That acquisition included the $586 million-asset Michigan Commerce Bank in Ann Arbor. Talmer changed that bank's name to Talmer West Bank.