A few hours after the US Treasury announced that it had sold its 13 million warrants to purchase common shares of Lincoln Financial Group, Lincoln itself announced that it had been one of the big buyers at the auction.
Lincoln Financial Group announced Friday afternoon that it acquired 2.9 million warrants to purchase its common stock at the Treasury auction. Those 2.9 million warrants represented 22.3% of the warrants sold by the Treasury. At $16.60 each Lincoln Financial will be paying a little over $48 million when the transaction closes next Wednesday (9/22).
“Lincoln’s participation in Treasury’s successful auction of the warrants reflects our confidence in the strength of our balance sheet and the long-term value of the franchise. This investment was also an opportunity to reduce future dilution to our shareholders at an attractive price,” said Dennis R. Glass, President and CEO of Lincoln Financial Group.
Lincoln was one of three big insurance companies to participate in the government’s TARP program, which mostly invested in banks to shore up the financial industry. It is believed to be the only broadcast station owner involved in TARP. Lincoln Financial Media, which owns 15 radio stations, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lincoln Financial Group.
