First Southern Bank raises $400M in new capital, revamps management

Boca Raton, Fla.-based First Southern Bancorp Inc. unit First Southern Bank said it raised approximately $400 million in fresh capital from 25 institutional investors, the South Florida Business Journal reported Feb. 2.

The investors, who purchased common and preferred stock, appointed Herbert Boydstun chairman and CEO, J. Randolph Bryan COO and Marsha Gassan CFO of First Southern Bank, the publication reported. Franklin Burnside, the former CEO of the bank, will remain president, and Chairman Brian Sherr will become vice chairman, according to the news story.

Boydstun's career includes tenure as president and CEO of Hibernia National Bank, while Gassan is a former CFO of that institution. Bryan formerly served as executive vice president and COO at New Orleans-based First Trust Corp. and as executive vice president at Hibernia, the new story added.

In addition, the bank has three new directors, including Robert Cox, former president of Summit Bancorp; Sidney Lassen, former Sizeler Property Investors chairman and CEO; and William O'Malley, former chairman of Tidewater.

First Southern Bank plans to use the new funds to grow into new South Florida markets and elsewhere via the acquisition of failed institutions and organic growth, Boydstun told the newspaper in an interview. The bank will recruit more hires for the planned expansion, he said. The bank could support expansion to at least $3.5 billion in assets with the additional capital, the news article said.

Burnside told the publication that First Southern Bank would repay U.S. Treasury Department's investment under TARP as soon as it receives the regulatory go-ahead.
Among the investors, three own 9.9% stakes in First Southern Bank, including San Mateo, Calif.-based Franklin Resources Inc., Burnside told the publication. The other funds reportedly own no more than 4.9% each.

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