BNP to trim its stake in First Hawaiian to below 20%

French banking giant BNP Paribas, which at one time owned all of First Hawaiian Bank, plans to reduce its stake in the state’s largest financial institution to under 20 percent.

Hawaii’s largest bank said after the market closed Wednesday that BNP’s ownership of holding company First Hawaiian Inc. could drop to as low as 16.2 percent following the completion of a public secondary offering by a BNP affiliate. This will be the third secondary offering from BNP since it began selling shares through an initial public offering in August 2016

First Hawaiian said BNP intends to offer 20 million shares in the secondary offering that would generate gross proceeds of about $577 million, excluding expenses, and reduce the French bank’s stake to 18.4 percent from 33.3 percent. If the underwriters exercise a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 3 million shares, then BNP’s stake would drop even further to 16.2 percent.

First Hawaiian didn’t immediately announce the price of the offering but Bloomberg News reported that a source said it would range from $28.85 to $29.03 a share. The offering is expected to close on Monday.

First Hawaiian’s stock closed Wednesday down 3 cents at $29.03. The shares are off 0.5 percent this year.

BNP began selling off First Hawaiian in the 2016 IPO to raise capital so it could meet regulatory requirements. The IPO was priced at $23 a share.

Subsequently, BNP conducted secondary offerings in January 2017 and May and July of this year. BNP has said several times that it plans to sell off its entire position in First Hawaiian stock but has not provided a timetable.

Underwriters for the offering are JPMorgan, Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup.

First Hawaiian will not receive any of the proceeds from BNP’s sale.

BNP, the owner of San Francisco-based Bank of the West, acquired 45 percent ownership of First Hawaiian in 1998 when First Hawaiian and Bank of the West merged. BNP then bought the balance of First Hawaiian in 2001.