First Mercury Financial Corporation Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering
October 18 2006 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Mercury
Financial Corporation (NYSE:FMR) today announced that it has priced
its initial public offering of 9,705,882 shares of its common stock
at a price of $17.00 per share. First Mercury has granted the
underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 1,455,882
common shares from the Company to cover over-allotments, if any.
The net offering proceeds to the Company, after the payment of
underwriting discounts, commissions and estimated expenses related
to the offering, will be approximately $151.0 million (assuming the
underwriters' over-allotment option is not exercised). The shares
of First Mercury Financial Corporation are scheduled to begin
trading on October 18, 2006, on the New York Stock Exchange under
the ticker symbol "FMR." J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Keefe,
Bruyette & Woods Inc. are serving as joint book-running
managers of the offering and William Blair & Company; Cochran
Caronia Waller; Dowling & Partners Securities; A.G. Edwards and
Ferris, Baker Watts Incorporated are acting as co-managers. A
registration statement relating to these securities has been
declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This
press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of
these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or
sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under
the securities laws of any such state. A copy of the prospectus
related to this offering may be obtained from J.P. Morgan
Securities Inc., Prospectus Department, 4 Chase Metrotech Center,
CS Level Brooklyn, NY 11245 Telephone: 718-242-8002 or Keefe,
Bruyette & Woods, Inc., 787 Seventh Avenue, 4th Floor, New
York, NY 10019, Attention: Equity Syndicate, Telephone:
212-887-8968. About First Mercury Financial Corporation First
Mercury Financial Corporation markets and underwrites specialty
commercial insurance products, focusing on niche and underserved
segments where the company has underwriting expertise and other
competitive advantages. During the company's 33 years of
underwriting risks, First Mercury has established CoverX(R) as a
recognized brand among insurance agents and brokers. As primarily
an excess and surplus (E&S) lines underwriter, First Mercury
has developed the underwriting expertise and cost-efficient
infrastructure which has enabled it to underwrite such risks
profitably. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains
forward-looking statements that relate to future periods and
includes statements regarding our anticipated performance.
Generally, the words "anticipates," "believes," "expects,"
"intends," "estimates," "projects," "plans" and similar expressions
identify forward- looking statements. These forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that could cause our actual results, performance
or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and
other important factors include, among others: our ability to
maintain or the lowering or loss of one of our financial or
claims-paying ratings; our actual incurred losses exceeding our
loss and loss adjustment expense reserves; the failure of
reinsurers to meet their obligations; our inability to obtain
reinsurance coverage at reasonable prices; the failure of any loss
limitations or exclusions or changes in claims or coverage; our
lack of long-term operating history in certain specialty classes of
insurance; our ability to acquire and retain additional
underwriting expertise and capacity; the concentration of our
insurance business in relatively few specialty classes; competition
risk; fluctuations and uncertainty within the excess and surplus
lines insurance industry; the extensive regulations to which our
business is subject and our failure to comply with these
regulations; our ability to maintain our risk-based capital at
levels required by regulatory authorities; our inability to realize
our investment objectives; and the risks identified in our filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
Registration Statement on Form S-1. Given these uncertainties, you
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. We assume no obligation to update or revise them or
provide reasons why actual results may differ. For more information
on the company, please visit the company's website at
http://www.firstmercury.com/ DATASOURCE: First Mercury Financial
Corporation CONTACT: Leslie Loyet, Analysts/Investors, Financial
Relations Board, for First Mercury Financial Corporation,
+1-312-640-6672, Web site: http://www.firstmercury.com/
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