- April 16, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Encore exits Florida
Encore Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based Encore Bancshares, Inc., is selling its Florida operations.
First, HomeBanc N.A., a subsidiary of Tampa-based HomeBancorp, Inc., has acquired the deposits from Encore's Clearwater and Belleair Bluffs offices, which totaling $58 million.
Second, approximately $171.6 million in assets associated with Encore's Naples, Fort Myers, and Sun City Center offices will be obtained by the National Bank of Southwest Florida, which is headquartered in Port Charlotte.
In a separate agreement, National Bank is to be acquired by Cleveland-based Ovation Holdings, Inc., according to a release.
TECO raises $550M
TECO Energy, Inc. has raised $550 million in capital by issuing new debt, according to a release this week.
The move is connected to the company's offer to buy up to $300 million in previously issued debt, which was announced late last month.
Combined, the moves will “lengthen the maturity profile of [TECO Energy's] indebtedness,” the company said.
The bought-up debt was due to mature in 2011 and 2012, while the newly issued debt will not mature until several years later.
Of the $550 million of notes, $250 million of it will mature in 2016, while the remaining $300 million will mature in 2020.
New tax proposed
Manatee County commissioners plan to look at imposing an annual $35 tax for every business in the county for a job creation program.
The tax could generate about $400,000 a year, supporters say. The Economic Development Council, an arm of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, would run the jobs program.
The tax proposal, if approved in draft form by commissioners, would then be debated in at least two public hearings.
Expansion project approved
After several years of haggling and negotiating, Venice entrepreneur Michael Pachota has finally been given approval to renovate Sharky's on the Pier, the landmark restaurant he owns on Caspersen Beach.
The potential project had been held up since at least 2005. The delay centered on a rent agreement: The restaurant is on prime real estate near the Venice Airport that the city runs through the Federal Aviation Administration. The Venice City Council unanimously approved a new lease agreement earlier this month.
The restaurant is currently about 6,000-square-feet and the renovation could add at least 5,000 more square feet of space. The project also includes a new kitchen and bathrooms.
Bridge project progresses
Manatee County commissioners have taken the first step toward authorizing a new bridge that would span the Manatee River.
The commission selected California-based URS Southern Corp. to design the Fort Hammer Bridge.
The plan is to ultimately build a 2,000-foot-long, two-lane bridge from Upper Manatee Road to Fort Hammer Road. Bridge plans include 10-foot wide shoulders and a sidewalk one side.
Total construction cost for the bridge is expected to be about $20 million.
Bob Janes dies
Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes died March 10 at his home. No replacement has been named to fill his vacant seat.
Janes represented Cape Coral as well as the barrier islands of Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island. He was first elected to the commission in 2000 and then was reelected twice.
A Sanibel resident since 1975, Janes served on the island's city council and as its mayor. He was instrumental in implementing some of the region's strictest building codes on Sanibel.
Bank to raise capital
Bank of Florida, a Naples-based holding company, filed to raise $45 million in a stock offering to boost capital at its three subsidiary banks.
The company attempted to raise $71 million in November but suspended that plan amidst a generally poor climate for financial stocks. Bank of Florida has $1.4 billion in assets and reported a net loss of $147.6 million in 2009, nearly half of that from goodwill impairment.
Two of the company's banks are located on the Gulf Coast: Bank of Florida-Southwest and Bank of Florida-Tampa Bay. The third bank, Bank of Florida-Southeast, is located in Fort Lauderdale.
The lead manager on the secondary offering is Kendrick Pierce & Co.
Conservancy raises $400,000
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the environmental group suing to prevent development on 3.1 millions acres in Southwest Florida, raised $400,000 at a gala for 450 wealthy donors in Naples recently.
The Conservancy joined the Sierra Club last month in a lawsuit to challenge the decision U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service not to designate vast swaths of land as critical habitat for about 100 Florida panthers.
About 1.1 million acres of the land in question is in private hands, putting economic development at risk.
