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Sometimes it pays to watch what company insiders do.
In hindsight, the abrupt resignation of Francis Rooney from the board of Naples-based Bank of Florida Corp. in the summer of 2009 was an ominous sign.
Through his company, Rooney Holdings, the Naples-based entrepreneur acquired nearly 7.3% of the outstanding stock of Bank of Florida for an estimated $11 million from the fall of 2007 until early 2008, filings show. Rooney still held those shares as of March 31, which are now worth about $200,000 since state regulators shut down the holding company's three bank subsidiaries on May 28.
Rooney, who also acquired Naples-based Kraft Construction in August 2008, one of the largest construction companies on the Gulf Coast, is the largest single shareholder of Bank of Florida stock, filings show. (The bank-holding company and another subsidiary, Bank of Florida Trust Co., were not part of the regulatory action on May 28.)
Rooney couldn't be reached, but in an interview with the Business Review in September 2008, he said he was confident in the seasoned management of the bank and the recovery of Florida banking.
Two years ago, Forbes ranked Rooney Holdings as one of America's largest privately held companies with $1.8 billion in annual revenues.
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