WASHINGTON - The
U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that it is commencing secondary
public offerings of the preferred stock it holds in the following seven
institutions:
- Fidelity Southern Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia
- Firstbank Corporation, Alma, Michigan
- First Citizens Banc Corp, Sandusky, Ohio
- MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc., Houston, Texas
- Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc., Newton, North
Carolina
- Pulaski Financial Corp., St. Louis, Missouri
- Southern First Bancshares, Inc., Greenville, South Carolina
The offerings are expected to price through a modified Dutch
auction. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner
& Smith Incorporated (“Merrill Lynch”) and Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P.
(“Sandler O’Neill”) are the auction agents and joint bookrunning managers for
the offerings.
Merrill Lynch and Sandler O'Neill, in their capacity as
auction agents, have specified that the auction will commence at 10:00 a.m., New
York City time, on June 25, 2012, and will close at 6:30 p.m., New York City
time, on June 27, 2012 (the “submission deadline”). During the auction period,
potential bidders for the preferred stock will be able to place bids on the
offered preferred stock (in increments of whole shares) at any price per share
(in increments of $0.01) at or above the minimum prices set forth in the
applicable preliminary prospectus supplements.
At settlement, winning bidders will be required to pay the
clearing price for the preferred stock plus accrued and unpaid dividends on the
preferred stock from and including May 15, 2012. Investors may bid on individual or multiple
preferred stock positions.
The auction procedure and terms of the respective preferred
stock are described in the applicable preliminary prospectus supplements
referenced below.
The preferred stock of each of the issuers is being offered
pursuant to effective shelf registration statements that have been filed by the
applicable issuer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
A preliminary prospectus supplement related to each offering
will be filed by the applicable issuer with the SEC and will be available on
the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Copies of the final prospectus supplements relating to the
offerings may be obtained, when available, from Merrill Lynch via email at dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com
or (800) 294-1322 or from Sandler O’Neill via email at syndicate@sandleroneill.com or
(866) 805-4128.
Before you invest, you should read the prospectus and
prospectus supplement in the registration statement and other documents the
applicable issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about
the issuer and the preferred stock.
This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or
the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these
securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or
sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities
laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
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