First Republic Announces 3.5 Mln Stock Offering

(RTTNews) - First Republic Bank (FRC) on Thursday said it has agreed to sell 3.5 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. The Bank has also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 525,000 shares from it.

The Bank said it plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include, among other things, funding loans or purchasing investment securities for its portfolio.

Closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about March 18. As the record date for First Republic's Annual Meeting of Shareholders is March 13, investors will not be eligible to vote shares of common stock purchased in this offering at the upcoming meeting.