FDIC's Sheila Bair
subsidized the
private equity rescue of BankUnited with $2.27 billion in cash. Private equity underwriters (PEU's) monetized their initial chunk of BankUnited a mere year after "saving it." They're ready for
Monetizing: Round 2.
Among the largest PEU shareholders of BankUnited:
- The Blackstone Group, which owns 8.3
million shares of common stock, is selling 4.8 million shares. Some of
the shares it would sell will be converted from Series A Preferred
Stock.
- The Carlyle Group, which owns 13.7 million shares, would sell 4.8 million of them.
- WL Ross & Co., controlled by Palm Beach billionaire Wilbur Ross, would also sell 4.8 million of its 13.7 million shares.
- Centerbridge Partners, which owns 10.8 million shares, would sell 3.8 million of them.
The shares priced at $25.25, giving $495 million to BankUnited's PEU owners. This compares unfavorably to the $27 IPO price which brought in $780 million. The two offerings total $1.27 billion. BankUnited's
PEU owners invested $900 million. They're already in the green with over half their initial shares left thanks to the FDIC.
