GREEN BAY, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2006--Associated
Banc-Corp (Nasdaq:ASBC):
-- Board approves additional share repurchases of up to 5% of
outstanding shares
-- Four million shares repurchased under accelerated share
repurchase transaction
-- Wholesale funding reduction plan increased
Associated Banc-Corp (Nasdaq:ASBC) announced today that its Board
of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 5 percent of
Associated's outstanding shares, or approximately 6.8 million shares.
Prior to this new authorization, the company had approximately 2.6
million shares remaining under a 2003 authorization.
Today, Associated also repurchased 4 million shares, or
approximately 2.9 percent of its outstanding common stock. Associated
purchased the shares from UBS AG London Branch under an accelerated
share repurchase program at $33.89 per share, for a total cost of
$135.6 million.
The accelerated share repurchase program enables Associated to
purchase the shares immediately, while UBS may purchase shares in the
market over a period of up to four months. The repurchased shares are
subject to a future purchase price adjustment expected to be settled
following a period of up to four months, when Associated may receive,
or be required to pay, a price adjustment based on an adjusted
weighted average price as defined in its repurchase agreement with
UBS.
After the accelerated repurchase announced today, the 2003
authorization is completed and approximately 5.4 million shares remain
available under the March 2006 repurchase authorization.
Associated also said it plans to increase the company's wholesale
funding reduction initiative announced last October from a range of
$1.0 to $1.5 billion to up to $2.0 billion. In addition to using cash
flows from maturing investments, the company has identified
approximately $0.7 billion of investments (approximately 15 percent of
total investment securities), which will be sold in March. The sale of
these investments, coupled with the sale of certain equity securities,
will result in no pre-tax loss in the first quarter. Proceeds from
these securities sales will be used principally to reduce wholesale
funding and repurchase stock in accordance with the company's
initiative.
Associated President and CEO Paul S. Beideman said, "We are
continuing to actively manage our balance sheet to reduce the level of
wholesale funding. When this initiative is completed, we expect to
reduce our ratio of wholesale funding to total funding from 34 percent
at Sept. 30, 2005, to a percentage level in the upper twenties. The
accelerated repurchase of shares keeps the initiative accretive to
shareholders.
"The interest rate environment and resultant competitive pressures
we expect to experience in the first half of 2006 will make achieving
consensus earnings estimates challenging. However, these initiatives
announced today are designed to improve our margin potential going
forward and should position us for improved earnings momentum into the
future," Beideman said.
Associated Banc-Corp, headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., is a
diversified multibank holding company with total assets of $22
billion. Associated has more than 320 banking offices serving more
than 180 communities in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The
company offers a full range of traditional banking services and a
variety of other financial products and services. More information
about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com.
Statements made in this document that are not purely historical
are forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes any statements regarding
management's plans, objectives, or goals for future operations,
products or services, and forecasts of its revenues, earnings, or
other measures of performance. Forward-looking statements are based on
current management expectations and, by their nature, are subject to
risks and uncertainties. These statements may be identified by the use
of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan,"
"estimate," "should," "will," "intend," or similar expressions.
Outcomes related to such statements are subject to numerous risk
factors and uncertainties including those listed in the company's
Annual Report filed on Form 10-K.
CONTACT: Associated Banc-Corp
Joe Selner (Investors), 920-491-7120
or
Jonathan Drayna (Media), 920-431-8032
SOURCE: Associated Banc-Corp