Commercial Bancgroup launches US$103.7m float
Commercial Bancgroup is the latest small commercial bank seeking to go public with the launch on Monday of a US$103.7m Nasdaq IPO that would allow management to cash out as well as fund expansion.
Hovde Group, a Chicago-based investment boutique focused on financial services, is sole bookrunner on the sale of 3.74m shares marketed at US$25.75–$27.75, targeting a market capitalisation of roughly US$380m at the top of that range and valuing it 1.4 times book value.
The bank, which had confidentially marketed the offering prior to launching publicly, expects to price the offering during the week of September 30.
The Tennessee-based bank is selling one quarter of the shares offered (934,579 shares) and existing shareholders led by executive chairman Adam Robertson the remaining 2.8m shares.
Commercial Bancgroup, which operates 34 branches and one loan office, is the third bank to go public in the US this year, marking the busiest level of funding for the sector since 2020, according to LSEG data.
The IPO also comes as regional banks look set to benefit from the Fed’s recent rate cut and increased borrowing.
Commercial Bancgroup intends to use the primary proceeds to fully repay US$26.9m of debt.
Commercial Bancgroup has expanded from its foothold of Tennessee through acquisitions, including the purchase last year of North Carolina’s AB&T Financial that gave it five branches in Charlotte.
In the first six months of 2025, the bank posted net earnings of US$17.6m on revenue of US$44.1m. Based on preliminary unaudited results provided at launch, it expects nine-month net earnings and revenue of US$35m–$36.5m and US$66.5m–$68m.
The AB&T acquisition and series of earlier purchases have boosted Commercial Bancgroup’s total assets to US$2.3bn, deposits to US$1.8bn, and net loans to US$1.77bn as of June 30.
The bank’s Tier 1 risk-based capital stands at 13.6%, making it well capitalised ahead of the IPO.
Commercial Bancgroup would be the third US regional bank IPO (over US$50m) this year after Michigan-based NorthPointe Bancshares raised US$151.1m on its IPO February and California’s AvidBank US$62.2m on its offering in early August. NorthPointe and AvidBank are trading 25.7% and 12.7% up.