IMCB initiates reverse stock split

SANDPOINT — Investors in Intermountain Community Bancorp will find themselves with far fewer stock shares come early October.

Banking officials announced Friday that the parent company for Panhandle State Bank is initiating a reverse stock split that will transform 10 shares of voting and nonvoting common stock into a single share effective Oct. 5.

The reverse stock split, approved by shareholders on May 17, will reduce the number of shares in voting and nonvoting stock from 26 million and 38.4 million to 2.6 million and 3.8 million. It will also lower the shares of authorized voting and nonvoting stock from 300 million and 100 million to 30 million and 10 million.

“The reverse stock split will allow our stock to be more broadly traded on NASDAQ and satisfies a contractual obligation to our new investors,” said Curt Hecker, president and CEO of IMCB.

The goal of the split is to raise per share market prices to at least $4 per share, Hecker said.

It’s an important threshold to reach, as the increase in value will allow Intermountain Community Bancorp to apply for the ability to list shares of voting common stock on the NASDAQ Capital Market.

Since the move is largely a cosmetic action, it doesn’t impact the company’s value. However, officials hope the stock’s listing on the NASDAQ will broaden the range of investors available to Intermountain Community Bancorp.

Investors will find that while they hold fewer stock, the value will remain the same. All fractional shares will be rounded up to the nearest whole share.

In addition, shareholders with certified shares will need to exchange their certificates for book-entry shares to reflect the new totals of common stock shares. Investors holding those kinds of shares can expect to see a letter from the American Stock Transfer and Trust Company detailing the procedure to complete the exchange.