Three outside investors have agreed to inject $103 million in needed capital into United Western Bancorp Inc., the Denver-based bank holding company said Friday.
Affiliates of private-equity funds Lovell Minnick Partners and Oak Hill Capital Management plan to invest $47 million each by buying 117.5 million shares of United Western common stock at a price of 40 cents per share.
Additionally, Ric Duques, former chairman and chief executive of First Data Corp., has committed to purchase 22.5 million shares for $9 million.
“It is very important,” said Guy Gibson, United Western’s chairman. “We feel like we will be the first recapitalized bank in the Rocky Mountain region.”
The investments require United Western to raise another $97 million in a private placement. It must also complete the purchase announced in June of Legent Clearing, a company Duques controls.
And regulators must also give the go-ahead.
As part of the agreement, the three investors will receive warrants or rights to purchase 25.75 million additional shares within the next 10 years at a price of 40 cents each.
If those warrants are exercised, Lovell Minnick and Oak Hill Capital will each own 23.1 percent of the company, which owns United Western Bank. Duques will control about 5 percent, including shares received from the sale of Legent Clearing, a service provider to brokerage firms.
Gibson emphasized that the three investors are independent and not acting in concert, which would give them majority control over the bank.
Oakwood Hill Capital and Lovell Minnick each will get a seat among the seven available on United Western’s board of directors.
Soured real estate loans and sharp declines in the value of mortgage-backed securities holdings have forced United Western to take large write-offs.
In late June, the Office of Thrift Supervision handed United Western a cease-and-desist order to boost its capital levels.
The backing of three big-name investors should help United Western in those efforts.
Lovell Minnick is an $800 million private-equity fund based in Los Angeles and Philadelphia and known for its expertise in the financial-services area.
Oak Hill Capital, with offices in New York, Connecticut and California, has about $8.2 billion in capital, and counts Robert Bass, of Bass Brothers fame, as its lead investor.
Its portfolio companies include American Skiing Co., Duane Reade and Dave & Busters.
United Western shares fell 6 cents, or 13 percent, on high volume Friday to close at 40 cents, the price offered to the outside investors.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
