CINCINNATI Fifth Third Bancorp said this morning it expects to record a pre-tax gain of as much as $225 million (around $145 million after-tax) in the second quarter of 2013 from the sale of some of it stake in Vantiv, but will continue to hold $1.3 billion worth of stock in the card processor it took public a year ago.
The proceeds from the sale are expected to help Fifth Third in repurchasing its own common shares.
Vantiv, which provides cards processing for more than 800 credit unions, has priced a secondary offering of 38.6 million shares of its shares, 15.6 million sold by Fifth Third.
Vantiv shares are trading up today at $23.70, near a 52-week high.
Fifth Third Bancorp created Vantiv, the one-time Fifth Third Processing Solutions, as a joint venture with Boston investment firm Advent International. The two partners took the company public in a March 2012 IPO.
After the stock sales Fifth Third Bancorp will hold 54.6 million Vantiv shares valued at $1.3 billion.
