Sterling Bancshares Files To Raise Cash... Adios TARP? (SBIB, SBIBN)

Sterling Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) has just filed with the SEC to sell up to $150 million in a mixed securities shelf filing.  The bank listed that it will sell any combination of preferred stock, common stock, and warrants.  The interesting notion here is that the securities shelf registration states that these may be sold by the company and/or by one or more selling security holders to be identified in the future.  The company’s preferred shares trade as “SBIBN” on NASDAQ.

The net proceeds’ use of funds will be for capital expenditures, repayment of debt, working capital, to make acquisitions, and for general corporate purposes.  The bank also noted that it will disclose any proposal to use the net proceeds from any offering of securities in connection with an acquisition in the prospectus supplement relating to such offering.

The company said that it is authorized to issue up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock and up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock; and as of April 9, 2009, it had 73,373,514 shares of common stock and 125,198 shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.

We had put this as our most recent “Special Situation Pick” for our newsletter subscribers back in March, but we already issued the coming out with a couple of weeks when we got our entire move of 40% or more.  We expected this to come as a method to pay back TARP funds and possibly via a large new stakeholder.

No terms and no underwriters of any offering have been shown in the filing.  Shares are down about 3% at $7.28 on the day.  That full SEC filing is here.

JON C. OGG