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Paris banking giant BNP Paribas is gradually relinquishing its stake in First Hawaiian Bank.
An affiliate of BNP raised $800 million in a secondary offering Monday after selling 25 million shares of holding company First Hawaiian Inc. at $32 a share.
The sale reduced BNP’s stake in First Hawaiian to 64.6 percent. BNP, which at one time owned 100 percent of the state’s largest bank, could see its stake drop even lower to 62 percent if the offering’s underwriters exercise their option to purchase an additional 3.75 million shares. They have 30 days to exercise that option.
BNP, which keeps all the proceeds from the offering, has been selling off part of its stake in First Hawaiian to generate more capital and satisfy regulatory requirements. BNP has said in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings that it plans to sell off its remaining ownership of the bank over an unspecified period of time. As a restriction in Monday’s sale, BNP will have to wait at least 90 days before selling any additional shares.
First Hawaiian’s stock closed down 37 cents for the day at $31.90 in Nasdaq trading. Shares in the company are up 38.7 percent since it went public in August at the initial public offering price of $23.
The $800 million that BNP raised Monday was in addition to the $558 million it received in August by selling 21.1 million shares to investors and then an additional 3.2 million to underwriters. Those two sales reduced BNP’s stake in First Hawaiian to
82.6 percent before Monday’s secondary offering.