Two top shareholders in National Commercial Bank Jamaica have offered up 13 per cent of their current holdings under the pending offer to investors in New York.

Michael Lee-Chin's companies AIC Barbados and AIC Global together have put up 3.57 million depository receipts (ADRs), amounting to 178.57 million ordinary shares or 13.47 percent of their combined holdings of 1.325 billion shares.

NCB will put up 12.5 million ADRs or 625 million shares, however, the underwriters of the IPO - JP Morgan Securities LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc, Canaccord Genuity Inc, and CIBC World Markets Corp - have the option to purchase an additional 2.41 million ADRs or 120.53 million shares from the bank.

Each of NCB's ADRs is equivalent to 50 of the bank's ordinary shares.

Lead broker JP Morgan has registered 16.07 million ADRs with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which amounts to 803,571,450 million of NCB's ordinary shares.

NCB executives, led by chairman Michael Lee-Chin, are currently touring several big cities in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada to sell the offer to investors. The IPO price will be announced next Wednesday, February 6, at the wrap up of the tour in New York.

Lee-Chin currently owns approximately 63 per cent of the bank, the majority of which is held by AIC Barbados which controls 51.7 per cent of NCB.

NCB said the IPO is expected to raise at least US$175 million, or US$158 million, after expenses, which does not take into account the underwriters' overallotment option. NCB's ADRs are priced at US$13-US$15, or 26-30 US cents per share.

The pricing converts to about J$24-J$28 per share at spot conversion rates, which is above the J$21 trading price in Kingston, but in line with the J$19-J$28 range in which the stock has traded over the past year.

The SEC filings by JP Morgan have indicated a target fund-raising of US$225m for the NCB IPO, which is based on the midpoint pricing of the ADRs.

NCB's US$175m fund-raising estimate from the IPO is equivalent to just under US 22 cents per share.

business@gleanerjm.com