BMO selling 18.1M shares to help fund U.S. takeover
BNN Bloomberg
Bank of Montreal has confirmed its plan to sell shares to help finance its US$16.3-billion takeover of Bank of the West.
Bank of Montreal has confirmed its plan to sell shares to help finance its US$16.3-billion takeover of Bank of the West.
BMO said late Tuesday afternoon it will offer 18,125,000 common shares priced at $149.00 apiece, for total proceeds of $2.7 billion. That matches the haul BMO said it expected to raise in a stock offering when it announced its purchase of Bank of the West last year.
The share sale is being conducted on a bought-deal basis, with BMO Capital Markets serving as lead underwriter. It's priced at an almost 3.2-per-cent discount to the most recent closing price of BMO's shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
BMO has granted underwriters an option to purchase as many as 2,718,750 additional common shares at the same price of $149.
The purchase of Bank of the West, which marks a significant expansion of BMO's footprint in the United States, is largely being funded with cash on hand.
BMO has previously said it expects the takeover to close by the end of this year, pending regulatory approvals.
