BNP Paribas First Hawaiian stake is set to fall below 20 percent as the French bank moves ahead with another stock sale tied to Hawaiʻi’s largest financial institution.
First Hawaiian Inc. said after Wednesday’s market close that a BNP affiliate will launch a public secondary offering that could reduce BNP’s ownership to as low as 16.2 percent. The transaction would be the third secondary offering by BNP since it started unwinding its position following an initial public offering in August 2016.
According to the company, BNP plans to sell 20 million shares, which would generate about 577 million dollars in gross proceeds before expenses and trim its stake to 18.4 percent from 33.3 percent. If underwriters use a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 3 million shares, BNP’s holding would drop to 16.2 percent.
The company did not immediately disclose the offering price. Bloomberg reported a source indicated a range of 28.85 to 29.03 dollars per share.
The offering is expected to close on Monday.
First Hawaiian shares ended Wednesday at 29.03 dollars, down 3 cents on the day. The stock is down 0.5 percent year to date.
BNP began shedding its stake in the 2016 IPO, which priced at 23 dollars per share, to raise capital and meet regulatory requirements. Subsequent secondary offerings followed in January 2017, and again in May and July of this year.
BNP has reiterated its intention to fully exit the position, though it has not provided a timeline.
BNP Paribas First Hawaiian ownership history
Underwriters on the latest sale are JPMorgan, Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. First Hawaiian will not receive any proceeds from the transaction, which involves only selling shareholders.
BNP, which owns San Francisco-based Bank of the West, first acquired a 45 percent stake in First Hawaiian in 1998 when First Hawaiian and Bank of the West merged. It purchased the remaining shares in 2001.
