Beneficial Could Raise $633M in Conversion

Beneficial Bancorp in Philadelphia could raise as much as $633 million through its second-step conversion.

The $4.6 billion-asset mutual thrift plans to sell 46,750,000 to 63,250,000 common shares, priced at $10 per share, as part of its conversion to a fully stockholder-owned company.

Beneficial has received conditional approval from regulators for the second-step conversion. It must also receive support from depositors, who are scheduled to vote on the issue on Dec. 15.

Beneficial announced its conversion plans in August. The move followed a year-long Justice Department investigation into the bank's residential real estate lending program; Beneficial said in the August announcement that the fair-lending probe had ended recently.

The stock offering will take place on a subscription basis, with the first shares being offered to depositors who have been with the bank since June 30, 2013. It will then be expanded to participants in the bank's employee stock plan, followed by depositors who have joined the bank as late as Oct. 23, 2014. Additional shares will be sold to the public.

The offering is being managed by Sandler O'Neill & Partners.