First Republic plans $25-par offering; Taylor Capital prices; NextEra, Wells Fargo active

By Andrea Heisinger

New York, Nov. 15 - Another new preferred stock sale was announced on Thursday - from First Republic Bank - as the market awaited the pricing of shares from Taylor Capital Group Inc. and watched how recently priced offerings performed in trading.

Taylor Capital later sold $100 million of series A noncumulative perpetual preferreds in line with guidance and size talk.

San Francisco-based First Republic Bank announced plans to sell $25.00-par perpetual noncumulative series C preferred stock in a release on the company's website.

The shares are being talked in the 5.625% area, a trader said, noting the offering could price late on Thursday.

"They already launched it so I would think they'd try to push it through today," the trader said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are the bookrunners.

First Republic intends to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FRB-PrC."

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including funding loans or buying investment securities for portfolios.

In the secondary market, the new 5.125% $25-par series I junior subordinated debentures from NextEra Energy Capital Holdings Inc. were seen in trading, a source said.

The notes due Nov. 15, 2072 were quoted at $24.47 to $24.62 as of midday. The deal priced at the tight end of talk, pricing $500 million of notes after the close Wednesday.

And, Prudential Financial Inc. gave the terms of its $1.5 billion sale of 5.625% $1,000-par fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due June 15, 2043.

The notes were not seen trading as of midday, a trader said.

Also, the new issue from Wells Fargo & Co. priced earlier in the week was seen trading a $24.72, the trader added. The $600 million of 5.125% perpetual noncumulative series O preferreds priced on Tuesday at par of $25.00.

The tone of the preferred stock market, which had suffered along with equities on Wednesday, continued to be soft Thursday on continued worries about the fiscal cliff and unrest in the Middle East, the trader said.

"A lot of things that were weaker [Wednesday] still are," he said. "Any REITs - anything tied to mortgages - took a beating yesterday."

Taylor Capital's sale

Taylor Capital Group priced $100 million, or 4 million shares, of 8% series A noncumulative perpetual preferred stock on Thursday, according to an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The shares were priced at par of $25.00. Pricing was in line with 8% talk.

When declared, dividends will be payable quarterly. The preferreds can be redeemed, in whole or in part, on dividend payment dates on or after Feb. 15, 2018, or prior to that time, in whole, in the instance of a regulatory capital treatment event.

The call price is par plus accrued dividends.

The company has applied to list the new securities on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "TAYCO."

Sandler O'Neill + Partners LPC was the bookrunner. Co-managers were Stifel Nicolaus Weisel & Co., Janney Montgomery Scott LLC and Boenning & Scattergood Inc.

Proceeds will be used for business expansion and for general corporate purposes.

Taylor Capital is a Rosemont, Ill.-based holding company for Cole Taylor Bank.

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