BancorpSouth commences $100M public offering

TUPELO — BancorpSouth Inc. has commenced an underwritten public offering of $100 million of its common stock.

The company said it intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15 percent of common shares sold pursuant to this transaction.

All of the shares are being offered by the Tupelo-based financial institution.

BancorpSouth said it intends to use the net proceeds of this offering for general corporate purposes, including to maintain certain capital levels and liquidity at the company, potentially provide equity capital to BancorpSouth Bank, fund growth either organically or through acquisition of other financial institutions, insurance agencies, or other businesses that are closely aligned to the operations of the company and fund investments in its subsidiaries.

Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company Inc. are the joint book-running managers in the offering. Stephens Inc., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. are acting as co-managers for the stock offering.

The offering will be made under the BancorpSouth’s shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.