Capital Bank Financial Readies $250 Million IPO

Capital Bank Financial in Coral Gables, Fla. is finally going public.

The $7.7 billion-asset privately held bank holding company said Monday it would raise about $250 million via an initial public offering the company first announced in June 2011.

Capital expects to sell 11.3 million shares at an estimated offering price of between $21 and $23 per share, although only about half will be newly issued, according to a prospectus the company filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.

The company said it expects to net $112 million for future acquisitions, as existing stockholders will retain the proceeds from the sale of their shares.

Capital was formed in 2009 by a group headed by R. Eugene Taylor, the former vice chairman of Bank of America, to acquire distressed or underperforming banks throughout the southeast.

Since then company has acquired six banks, including Naples, Fla.-based TIB Financial Corp., Capital Bank Corp. in Raleigh, N.C., and Greensville Bankshares in Greenville, Tenn.

In March, Capital said it would acquire Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Southern Community Financial. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2012, would create a $9.1 billion-asset company with about 165 branches throughout the southeast from Virginia to Florida.

Capital cannot issue shares until its registration becomes effective, which is expected to be later this month. Capital's shares would trade under the symbol "CBF" on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.