Business startup lender Square 1 Bank has launched a $48 million fundraiser to shore up its capital base and expand lending activities.
In a March 11 filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, founder and CEO Richard Casey reveals that the venture bank has raised $1.93 million of the target. In exchange for the cash, Square 1 issued warrants to investors for 375,000 shares in the privately held bank at $5.15 a share.
The investment banking firm of Sandler O’Neill was hired to manage the fundraiser, according to the SEC filing, and will receive a fee of $1.5 million, plus 5 percent on all security sales over $30 million.
Asked to comment on the effort, Square 1 CFO David W. Brooks II, who took up his post in December, declined. “There’s not too much I can say to you about this,” he said, suggesting a call back to the bank in 30 days.
With offices located in high-tech hot spots across the country, Square 1 is a specialty bank that makes loans – sometimes in return for equity stakes – in venture capital-backed startup companies.
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