Jacksonville Bancorp (JAXB) in Florida is planning a reverse stock split that would allow its shares to keep trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
The board of directors of the $522 million-asset company approved a 20-to-1 reverse split on Tuesday, it announced. The company expects the split to occur on Oct. 24.
The reverse split would allow Jacksonville to regain compliance with the requirement that shares traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market have a minimum price of $1.00, it said. In May, the exchange gave Jacksonville until Nov. 25 to boost its stock price to the minimum, according to a regulatory filing. Jacksonville's stock was trading at just over 50 cents a share after markets closed on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Jacksonville closed a $5 million capital raise, in which it sold a total of about 10 million shares to the public at 50 cents per share, as well as through a rights offering. The bank also raise $50 million in a private placement late last year.
The largest investor in Jacksonville Bancorp is CapGen Capital Group, a private-equity company headed by Eugene Ludwig, former comptroller of the currency and current chief executive of the consulting firm Promontory Financial. Ludwig has also invested $24 million of his own money in the company.
Jacksonville has seen turnover at the top this year. It named Donald Glisson its new chairman in April and appointed him interim CEO in June, when Stephen Green resigned after about one year in the role.
