WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 11 /PRNewswire/ --
Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FFFL), the stock holding company for
Fidelity Federal Bank and Trust, has received regulatory approval to complete
the mutual-to-stock conversion of its mutual holding company and to complete
the related stock offering, in which shares of common stock represented the
mutual holding company ownership interest in Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. were
sold to investors. As a result of the transactions, the mutual holding
company will cease to exist, and Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. (the "Company")
will become wholly-owned by public stockholders. The transactions are
expected to be consummated on May 15, 2001.
The conversion and offering were approved by Fidelity Bankshares, Inc.'s
stockholders and by Fidelity Federal's customers. In the offering, Fidelity
Bankshares, Inc. sold 8,695,943 shares, at a purchase price of $10.00 per
share. The shares were purchased by customers of Fidelity Federal, its
benefit plans, including the employee stock ownership plan, and by existing
public stockholders of Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. More than 4,300 stock orders
were received. Vince A. Elhilow, President and Chief Executive Officer, said
"I am very pleased with the response of our customers and stockholders. We
appreciate their support and confidence in our organization." Ryan, Beck &
Co., LLC served as advisor and marketing agent with respect to the stock
offering.
Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. common stock currently trades on the Nasdaq
National Market, under symbol "FFFL". From the anticipated completion of the
offering, May 15, through June 12, 2001, the stock will trade under the symbol
"FFFLD"; thereafter, it will trade under the symbol "FFFL".
Fidelity Bankshares, Inc.'s public stockholders currently own 44.73% of
the Company, while the majority of the Company is owned by its mutual holding
company. As a part of the conversion, existing public stockholders of
Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. will receive 2.4166 new shares in exchange for each
of their existing shares of stock. The exchange ratio ensures that, after the
conversion and the offering, the public stockholders will maintain
approximately the same ownership interest (exclusive of their purchases in the
offering) in Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. as they owned before the transactions.
Cash will be issued in lieu of fractional shares. The share exchange will
occur promptly after the existing publicly traded shares cease trading,
expected to be before the opening of business on May 15. A total of
approximately 15,734,813 shares will be outstanding as a result of the
offering and share exchange.
Fidelity Bankshares, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fidelity
Federal Bank and Trust, has assets of $2.0 billion and deposits of nearly
$1.6 billion. It operates 37 offices in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie,
Florida counties. The bank offers traditional banking products as well as
trust, investment and insurance services, a full line of mortgage and
commercial loans and business banking services, including loans and lines of
credit. Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. is the fifth largest financial institution
holding company headquartered in Florida, and the largest headquartered in
Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties, based on total assets.
For more information contact President and Chief Executive Officer, Vince
A. Elhilow or Chief Financial Officer, Richard D. Aldred at (561) 659-9900.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements about the
total shares outstanding following the completion of the transactions and the
anticipated closing date. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the
fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They
often include words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate." Certain factors
could cause results to differ materially from expected results, include delays
in completing the transactions and changes in the securities markets.
SOURCE Fidelity Bankshares, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.fidfed.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/281429.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 281429
CONTACT:
Vince A. Elhilow, President and Chief
Executive Officer, or Richard D. Aldred, Chief Financial Officer,
both of Fidelity Bankshares, Inc., 561-659-9900
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