PE Finds Money in Financial Services

BankUnited has set the terms for its IPO on the NYSE under the symbol BKU. The offering includes 26.25 million shares of common stock, 4 million of which will be sold by the provider of bank products and services itself. Proceeds from those shares will be used for general corporate purposes. The other 22.25 million shares are being offered by certain stockholders, such as W.L. Ross & Co., The Carlyle Group, Centerbridge Partners and The Blackstone Group. The company expects to price its shares between $23 and $25 each. Morgan Stanley and BofA Merrill Lynch are leading the underwriting.

Since the beginning of 2008, PE investors have exited 49 companies in the Financial Services industry, according to the PitchBook Platform. 2010 was a good year for those looking to offload portfolio companies in the industry. The year closed up with 24 exits, far exceeding both 2009's 11 and 2008's 13. However, the median deal size dropped from $347.5 million in 2008 to $219.8 million in 2010. Sales to corporations continued to be the exit method of choice, but less so than in 2009, when it accounted for 81.8% of exits, as both IPOs and sales to other PE investors gained favor. Meanwhile, 82 PE investors made new investments in the industry last year. The most active were Stone Point Capital (11 deals), Lightyear Capital (8) and GS Capital Partners (7).