Dan Snyder Hires Bank to Explore Sale of Washington Commanders
“As always, we’re looking for somebody to buy us out,” the Bank said on the conference call. “We’re not going to continue to operate under this long-term lease if that’s not what the market dictates.”
The Bank’s shareholders will vote on the proposal at their meeting next Wednesday, July 11, at noon Eastern Time.
The Bank’s decision to explore selling its properties comes as Mr. Snyder told shareholders that he may need $500 million in additional capital by the end of the year and is considering taking $2 billion of loans from the Federal Reserve or the government.
In mid-May, Mr. Snyder told the Wall Street Journal that he planned to ask the company’s board to increase its dividend and cut its debt.
At a meeting on July 11, Mr. Snyder said the company would raise the dividend to 5 cents per quarter, compared with 3 cents. The dividend payment would drop to the same level as this year’s $1.60 a share.
He also said he would cut the company debt by $1.5 billion.
Mr. Snyder said that if the company is sold, the buyer would be able to acquire all of the Bank’s properties, including its headquarters, its branches in Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Oregon and its assets in Wyoming.
A sale could be completed by early September, Mr. Snyder said.
Shareholders voted a year ago to adopt a plan to allow the lender to convert a portion of its mortgages to non-recourse debt. Under the plan, which is expected to be extended this year, the company would sell its mortgages in blocks of 30 properties, including its headquarters and its branch in Anchorage. The mortgages are valued at $2.5 billion, according to the Bank. The new non-recourse mortgage debt would total $1.5 billion.
The company is working with Bank of America on the sale. Mr. Snyder said he is working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and with the Treasury Department’s Office of Thrift Supervision on the sale.
The Bank’s shareholders would receive a total of $9.9 million if the company converts one or more of its
