It’s a funny thing.
BankUnited, the once-bankrupt thrift taken over by a group of big-name private-equity firms, is still fielding offers from potential buyers despite a disappointing sales process earlier this year, The Post has learned.
While the bank isn’t in formal negotiations, CEO John Kanas, a respected executive who invested millions of his own money in the bank buyout, has been quietly fielding bids from interested parties, sources said.
The earlier sales process, run by Goldman Sachs, soured in January after buyers failed to come forward at the hoped-for price tag of more than $29 a share.
Now, sources say the Florida-based savings and loan — known for its slogan, “It’s a local thing” — would be open to an offer between $27 and $29 a share.
Toronto-based TD Group, which owns TD Bank in the US, and regional franchise lender BB&T Corp. are said to have an appetite for acquiring the thrift, sources said.
Both lenders were involved in the January talks for BankUnited but balked at the original $30 asking price. Their recent offers value the bank at closer to $25 a share, below BankUnited’s closing price of $25.70 cents yesterday.
Kanas, who helped grow North Fork before selling it to Capital One in 2006, isn’t counting on a deal and says he’s committed to growing the Florida-based savings and loan, particularly in New York.
“We have no interest in soliciting bids,” Kanas told The Post. “But I’m the head of a public company, so if there’s an [attractive] offer we’d have to consider it.”
Complicating any Big Apple expansion plans is a recently settled lawsuit with Kanas’ former employer Capital One, which charged that he breached a five-year non-compete clause when he purchased Manhattan-based Herald National Bank.
Part of the non-compete expired on Aug. 8, but Kanas still isn’t allowed to purchase a bank in New York until Feb. 1 as a part of the agreement.
BankUnited is among a spate of smallish banks that got rocked during the credit crisis but is now on firmer footing.
In 2009, billionaire Wilbur Ross, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Centerbridge Capital Partners were among the heavy-hitters that teamed up to buy BankUnited for $925 million after it was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The bank’s PE owners also benefited from a controversial sweetheart loss-sharing agreement with the FDIC that covers as much as 95 percent of the losses on its legacy home mortgages.
So far, BankUnited’s owners have collected $2.1 billion from the feds’ guarantee.
Kanas and the investment group made their money back and more just two years after the buyout, when BankUnited shares were sold to the public at $27 a share.
BankUnited’s backers are said to be inclined to sell the asset soon because they are fearful new tax laws, including those on so-called carried interest, could prove less favorable to the firm.