Freedom Financial Hldgs. Inc. (FDVA)

[Enterprising Investor]

Freedom Bank wraps up capital raise with $3.5 million (2/05/15)

Mark Holan

Freedom Bank of Virginia has concluded three months of public and private stock offerings with about $3.5 million in new capital.

That's half the offered amount of up to $7 million, but more than enough to please bank CEO Craig Underhill. He insisted the Fairfax bank didn't need to raise capital, but can use the extra money to goose growth through this year and into 2016.

Freedom's capital raise is much smaller than some other locally based community banks. Fairfax-based MainStreet Bank, which like Freedom has less than $400 million in assets, raised $12.75 million in December. Monument Bank of Rockville says it will seek about $10 million later this year.

Freedom began selling up to $4 million in stock to the public beginning in early November, then extended the offer until mid-December. It eventually raised $1.5 million from 50 new shareholders.

A $5 million rights offering among existing shareholders, first announced in August, was scaled back to $3 million and delayed because of the public offering. That rights sale began Dec. 22 and concluded Jan. 31, raising another $2 million from 243,000 shares at $9 per share.

Underhill did both offerings without the help — or fees — of an investment bank.

"I wouldn't rule out doing it again," he said.

Underhill said he plans to use the fresh capital to open a fourth branch somewhere in Northern Virginia later this year, and to expand the bank's residential mortgage operations.

Freedom (OTCQX: FDVA) began trading on the OTCQX Bank Index, a grouping of small- and mid-sized community and regional banks or their holding companies launched last month. MainStreet (OTCQX: MNSB) joined the same marketplace this week, but is not yet on the index.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2015/02/freedom-bank-wraps-up-capital-raise.html