First Republic, Biggest Bank IPO Since Credit Crisis, Gains In First Day
First Republic, which is backed by Colony Capital and General Atlantic, is flourishing in its first day as a public company. On Thursday, shares of First Republic surged more than 8%, or $2.14, to $27.62 in early afternoon trading. First Republic priced 11 million shares Wednesday at $25.50 via joint book runners BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan. Other underwriters include Barclays Capital, Jefferies & Co., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Sandler O’Neill & Partners and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel. San Francisco-based First Republic, which caters to wealthy investors, has $22 billion in assets as of Sept. 30. The bank isn’t selling all the shares in the IPO. First Republic is offering about 4.1 million shares while stockholders are providing the remaining 6.9 million, a statement said. First Republic said it plans to use the $95.2 million in net proceeds from the IPO for general corporate purposes, which could include funding loans and buying stock for its portfolio.
