By Robb M. Stewart
MELBOURNE, Australia--National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) said
it expects to raise as much as US$495 million selling down its
controlling stake in regional U.S. lender Great Western Bancorp
Inc. (GWB).
NAB will offer 20 million shares in Great Western at US$21.50
each, the Australian bank said Friday. The underwriters of the
offer will have a 30-day option to buy an additional 3 million
shares.
In all, the offer accounts for 39.7% of Great Western's shares
and if successfully sold would reduce NAB's stake to 28.5%.
The Melbourne-based bank, which plans a full exit from its U.S.
business in time as it refocuses on its core franchises in
Australia and New Zealand, sold a 31.8% interest in Great Western
last year at US$18 a share. The initial public offering raised
US$331 million.
A full sale of Great Western Bank is expected to bolster NAB's
capital reserves, lifting its common equity tier-1 ratio by about
30 basis points, the bank said. Most of that benefit would come
when NAB fully disposes or loses control of the U.S. bank. NAB said
that it will continue to appoint a majority of Great Western's
board members for up to 12 months following the share offer, and
will continue to consolidate the business for accounting
purposes.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and J.P.
Morgan Securities LLC are joint book-running managers and
underwriters for the secondary offering.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
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