Wilbur Ross’ Invesco Private Capital Substantially Reduces Exposure to Talmer Bancorp (TLMR)

Last Friday, Wilbur Ross’ Invesco Private Capital considerably reduced its exposure to Talmer Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:TLMR).  Following the last of the transactions – the sale of 3.61 million shares for $13 per share, Invesco owns 10.42 million shares of the company, worth more than $144 million. The fund had declared the ownership of 14.04 million Class A Common Stock shares only two days earlier, on the date of the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Talmer Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:TLMR) is a bank holding company with a market cap slightly below $1 billion. It operates through three subsidiaries: Talmer Bank and Trust, Talmer West Bank and First Place Bank. The firm priced its initial public offering of 15.56 million shares of Class A Common Stock at $13.00 per share. Out of the total amount, Talmer sold 3.70 million shares, while the remaining 11.85 million shares were sold by certain selling shareholders.

The company boasts above-average margins and returns (returns on equity and assets double industry means), but still trades below its peers´ valuation, at 2.9 times its sales –versus an industry average of 3.3 x.

Despite the fact that Talmer Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:TLMR)’s stock traded – in the open market – closer to $14 per share than to $13 per share since its IPO, Invesco sold a big chunk of its participation in the company in the context of the company´s IPO, where the price was set at $13. The offering was closed on the same date as Invesco’s sale. Shares are now available for regular purchases.

In order to understand this sale, one must take one fact into account: Invesco held more than 14 million Talmer shares before the company went public. The fund had paid substantially less for each share, and has already perceived a considerable upside with this sale – it received about $47 million for the 3.61 million shares.

Moreover, this sale could be interpreted as an opportunity that Ross’ fund saw, more than as a bearish signal. In fact, I would still believe that Mr. Ross feels quite bullish about Talmer Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:TLMR)’s future, based on his ownership of more than 10 million shares. In fact, Mr. Ross is not the only one who had bet on this company before its IPO. David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital held 3.35 million Class A shares before the company went public.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks mentioned

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