BankUnited Returns As Public Bank With IPO (BKU, BX)

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) is coming public again today, for the second time.  The bank you used to know as “BKUNA” is now “BKU” and is far more healthy and more focused.  The Florida-based bank priced its initial public offering of 29,000,000 shares at $27.00 per share.  This is a premium IPO on two counts as the price range and indications just this week were for 26.25 million shares in a price range of $23.00 to $25.00.  In the offering, BankUnited, Inc. will sell 4,000,000 shares, while selling stockholders will sell 25,000,000 shares.

The underwriting group shows Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, KBW, RBC Capital Markets, and UBS. These underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,350,000 shares from the selling stockholders at the IPO price less the underwriting discount.

The new BankUnited is federally chartered and an insured savings association based in Miami Lakes, Florida. The bank listed assets of $11.2 billion, and it shows that it has over 1,100 professionals currently at 78 branches throughout 13 counties as of September 30, 2010.

Again, this is a re-IPO and investors should take note that almost all of the proceeds are going to the private equity backers rather than to the company.  Even the overallotment option to cover extra orders, if any, will be shares sold by the insiders rather than by the company.  BankUnited was crushed in the recession and effectively ended up in bankruptcy due to poor real estate loans and poor operations. Wilbur Ross acquired the bank from the FDIC in a pre-approved ‘restructuring’ package via WL Ross & Co. and co-investors were The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX), Carlyle Group, and Centerbridge Partners.

BankUnited was not listed as one of our Top 17 IPOs To Watch For In 2011, but it should have been.

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JON C. OGG