PrivateBancorp Inc., the Chicago-based parent company of The PrivateBank, Milwaukee, today announced a $200 million private placement of equity securities to institutional and individual accredited investors.
PrivateBancorp is raising the capital to support its growth initiatives.
The placement includes a $100 million investment from GTCR Golder Rauner LLC, one of the nation's leading private equity firms. Mesirow Financial, through its affiliated entities, also will be a substantial strategic investor with a $40 million investment. The remaining $60 million will be invested by several businesses and individual accredited investors.
All of the securities to be sold in the private placement were priced at the equivalent of $28.71 per common share, the official Nasdaq consolidated closing bid price of PrivateBancorp's common stock as of Friday, Nov. 23. The private placement includes a total of 5.5 million shares of common stock and $41 million of preferred stock, which will be convertible into 1.4 million additional common shares.
"We are pleased that such a large number of business leaders have contacted us and expressed their support for PrivateBancorp and our efforts to become the preeminent middle market commercial and private bank in Chicago and all the markets we serve," said Larry Richman, president and chief executive officer of PrivateBancorp. "This private placement gives us the capital we need to support the continued expansion of our client relationships and substantially grow our loan portfolio."
Ralph Mandell, chairman of PrivateBancorp, said, "We continue to make progress in executing our strategic growth and transformation plan. Since Sept. 30, 2007, we have hired 34 new managing directors. We will continue to recruit talented bankers in all our markets and are building on our strong foundation to substantially grow our client base and increase our middle market commercial banking capabilities."

The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) announced that Lisa Binder, president and chief operating officer of Associated Banc-Corp, and Mark Miller, chief executive officer of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., have been named co-chairs for the 2008 UPAF Campaign.
Binder has championed the arts, social and economic nonprofit organizations throughout her career. One of the many boards that she served on in Philadelphia was the Walnut Street Theatre, the oldest theater in America, where she was vice chair. Upon moving to Milwaukee earlier this year, she became engaged in the local arts community, serving on the United Way Cabinet and is a frequent patron of the arts.
"Associated has long been a supporter of the arts, and Milwaukee is fortunate to have dozens of healthy and vibrant performing arts organizations, all demonstrating what's best in our community," Binder said. "I believe our communities are better places to live and work when businesses and individuals collaborate in benefiting worthy organizations."
Since his appointment as CEO of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek in 2001, Miller has been dedicated to supporting organizations and activities that result in a stronger community in which to live and work.
Miller serves on the boards of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Dominican High School and Junior Achievement of Wisconsin, and involved with the Greater Milwaukee Committee and various nonprofit organizations.
"I am honored to be working with UPAF and Lisa on the 2008 Campaign," Miller said. "I look forward to inviting the community to support our many outstanding performing arts groups so that they can continue to inspire and enrich our lives."
"UPAF is fortunate to be working with such involved and dedicated community leaders," said UPAF board chair Tom Ellis. "Lisa and Mark will be our champions and spend many hours continuing our strong legacy and ensuring our performing arts groups are healthy for future generations."
The 2008 UPAF Campaign will begin in March and run through June. For more information about UPAF and for UPAF member and affiliate season schedules and ticket information, visit www.upaf.org.

Nearly two-thirds of the funds needed to pay for a bronze sculpture of the Fonzie television character in Milwaukee have been raised, and supporters of the project hope to attract the remaining dollars by selling "Bronze the Fonz" T-shirts through a new web site.
The mini Web site, hosted and created by OnMilwaukee.com, a media partner of SBT, is at www.bronzethefonz.com.
The Fonzie statue project is the brainchild of David Fantle, vice president of public relations at Visit Milwaukee.
Milwaukee-based Brew City Promotions has designed the official T-shirts, which are available for order on the site for $22, with $10 going to fund the project. The shirts also are will be available Friday at the Brew City retail store in the Shops of Grand Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.
Nearly $57,000 of the estimated project cost of $85,000 has been raised.
Lake Mills artist Gerald Sawyer has been commissioned to create the statue. Sawyer has designed, sculpted and installed several pieces in the Milwaukee area, including the sculpture "Rendezvous" for the Milwaukee County Zoo and numerous sculptures of Frederick Miller for Miller Brewing Company.
Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli, the "Happy Day's” character portrayed by actor Henry Winkler, was recently selected among the top TV icons of all time by Entertainment Weekly and TV Land.

The World Trade Center Wisconsin and the Racine County Economic Development Corp. will present an executive briefing on "Entering the Global Marketplace," with a focus on "Building a Solid Foundation for International Success," on Thursday, Dec. 13.
The interactive briefing will be presented by local practitioners in key areas of international business. Topics will include: "Introduction & Setting a Strategic Plan" by Gary Les of Virchow Krause; "Tax/Legal Issues" by Dan Geraghty of Virchow Krause; "Risk Management & Insurance" by Dan Horton of The Horton Group; "Banking & Financial Issues" by Gregory Dorf of J.P. Morgan Chase; "Moving Product: Logistics 101" by Steen Sanderhoff of Leman USA Inc.; and "Political & Cultural Nuances" by Christen Pechman, WTC Wisconsin. The program will include a question-and-answer session, followed by lunch.
The event will take place from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation (CATI) in Sturtevant. For additional information, visit www.wistrade.org/Registration/index.asp?E=546.

Many Green Bay Packers fans are traveling to Dallas for the Thursday's game against the Cowboys. Both teams are 10-1, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs could be at stake. Ticket brokers are selling tickets for the game for about $500 to $600. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com.

The Federal Communications Commission should provide a mediator to settle the disputes the NFL Network and the Big Ten Network are having with cable television companies, according to U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, author of today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.

The BizTimes Stock Index lost 1.46 points to close at 162.58 Monday, but the stock market roared back with a rally this morning. The largest local advancers this morning were Rockwell Automation Inc. (up $1.02 to $65.99) and Fiserv Inc. (up 98 cents to $50.34). The largest local decliners this morning were Manpower Inc. (down 95 to $56.35) and MGIC Investment Corp. (down 58 cents to $18.84). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.