Investors Bancorp to Sell Up to $2.5B of Stock in Conversion

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) in Short Hills, N.J., plans to issue up to $2.5 billion of stock as part of its conversion from a mutual to a stock holding company.

The company plans to sell between 161.5 million and 251.3 million shares in its second-step conversion, it said Friday. Current depositors of Investors Bank and participants in the bank's employee-benefit plans will be given a chance to buy the shares at $10 each through a subscription offering.

Public stockholders of Investors Bancorp then will be given a chance to swap each share they own for new stock. Investors has not yet determined the exchange ratio, but estimates that current shareholders will receive from 1.9 to 2.9 shares of the new stock for each share of the old.

Investors Bancorp's shares closed Friday at $25.38 apiece.

Any remaining shares of the newly issued stock will then be sold to the public through an underwritten offering.

Investors did not announce a date for the conversion, which is subject to the approval of current Investors depositors and shareholders as well as federal and state regulators. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods will help manage the subscription offering.

The $13.8 billion-asset Investors recently completed its long-delayed deal to acquire Roma Financial in Robbinsville, N.J. It has also agreed to buy Gateway Community Financial, a mutual thrift in Sewell, N.J.