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The Coral Gables-based thrift, which is the largest financial institution based in Florida with $13.14 billion in assets, said the estimated loss for the second quarter ended March 31 leaves the company with a stockholder deficit of $1.03 billion.
The loss, spurred by a mounting pile of bad loans, amounts to $12.55 a share. For the year-earlier quarter, BankUnited posted a net loss of $65.8 million, or $1.88 a share.
BankUnited estimated the loss in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying uncertainty about its financial condition has prevented it from preparing its financial results on time. It still hasn't reported actual results for the year 2008 or for the fiscal first quarter either.
According to its latest SEC filing, the bank has kept plenty of liquidity on hand: $1.3 billion in cash as of May 7. Deposits are insured up to $250,000 by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
With 85 branches, most of them in South Florida, BankUnited provide a major footprint in the Florida banking market for any buyer.
Prospective buyers of the ailing institution are facing an 11 a.m. Thursday deadline to file their bids with the FDIC, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Office of Thrift Supervision, which has increasingly tightened its grip in recent week and months, is overseeing the fate of the company in coordination with the FDIC in an effort to minimize losses to the insurance fund and taxpayers.
The bids are likely to be structured to include proposals for some sort of loss-sharing agreement on the huge portfolio of troubled assets the thrift holds, according to people familiar with the situation.
Three likely bidder groups have emerged. TD Bank, which has a major base in Florida, is expected to join with Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank, in bidding for the thrift, according to people familiar with the matter.
WL Ross & Co., a distressed asset firm founded by Wilbur Ross, has confirmed that it plans to bid for the thrift. Private equity giants Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group are expected to join in that bid, according to people familiar with the situation.
A third suitor -- JC Flowers & Co., a New York investment firm run by J. Christopher Flowers -- also is looking at acquiring the thrift, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Ramiro Ortiz, chief executive officer of the ailing thrift, has been looking for new capital to revive the bank.
The government hasn't shown a willingness to put fresh capital into th existing institution. However, BankUnited has been arguing that would be the best and the least-expensive route for taxpayers.
In its SEC filing, BankUnited reiterated "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern. "We have been actively trying to raise capital at the holding company level for over a year," it said.
"No assurance can be given that we will be able to raise capital at either the bank or the holding company level," BankUnited reported.
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