OceanFirst plans offering of $50M in stock

OceanFirst Financial plans public offering of $50 million of its common stock

• On 11:07 am EDT, Monday October 26, 2009

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) -- OceanFirst Financial Corp. said Monday that it plans a public offering of $50 million of its common stock.

The bank holding company plans to use part of the offering's proceeds to buy back some preferred stock sold to the Treasury Department as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. OceanFirst said it submitted an application to repurchase the stock but is unsure if or when it will receive approval. Proceeds not used to buy back preferred shares will be put toward general corporate purposes.

OceanFirst said it will give the underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 15 percent of the shares to cover any overallotments.

The company's stock fell 98 cents, or 8.1 percent, to $11.08 in morning trading. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $7.13 to $17.75.