BNC Bancorp in Highpoint, N.C., has paired up with private-equity investors.
The $2.2 billion-asset company announced Tuesday that it has received $35 million of fresh capital through a private placement led by Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a New York private-equity firm that includes former Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Ken Thompson.
The company said earlier this year that it was exploring a private placement. It had called off a $40 million public offering in November.
The investors, which include the company's board of directors, paid $10 a share, a 5% premium to the company's closing stock price on Monday. Aquiline's investment, which includes common and preferred stock, gives the firm a 24.9% stake in BNC's total equity and 9.9% of its common stock.
BNC said in a press release that the additional capital will go toward supporting its expansion in North Carolina and neighboring states.
On April 9, the company struck a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to acquire the $620 million-asset Beach First National Bank in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
