LOS ANGELES, July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Preferred Bank (Nasdaq: PFBC) today announced the commencement of its previously announced common stock rights offering. As announced on June 10, 2009, the Board of Directors of Preferred Bank has authorized a rights offering of up to $10 million of Preferred Bank common stock, no par value, to its existing shareholders.
Under the proposed rights offering, each shareholder of record as of the June 22, 2009 record date, will receive, at no charge, one non-transferable subscription right equal to 0.35 shares for each share of Preferred Bank common stock owned on the record date. Each right will entitle the holder to purchase 0.35 shares of Preferred Bank common stock at the offered price of $2.88 per share.
The proposed rights offering will also include an over-subscription privilege which will entitle each rights holder that exercises its basic subscription privilege in full to purchase any shares not purchased by other shareholders pursuant to their basic subscription privilege at the same subscription price ($2.88 per share) that applies to the basic subscription privilege. The rights offering period begins today, July 24, 2009 and expires in August 24, 2009. Any shares of common stock that remain unsubscribed (after taking into account all over-subscription rights exercised) at the expiration of the rights offering will be offered to the public.
Preferred Bank may, in its sole discretion, increase the number of shares offered by up to an additional 10% of the offering amount. Fractional shares of Preferred Bank's common stock resulting from the exercise of the basic subscription right will be eliminated by rounding down to the nearest whole share, with the total subscription payment being adjusted accordingly.
The common stock will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. Shares of Preferred Bank's common stock are exempt from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and are listed and freely tradable on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "PFBC."
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any sale of the common stock referred to in this press release in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. The rights offering will be made only by means of an offering circular.
About Preferred Bank
Preferred Bank is one of the largest independent commercial banks in California focusing on the Chinese-American market.
