THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070241
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
A South Carolina investment group said Monday that it has accumulated a 9.9 percent stake in CENIT Bancorp Inc. and may seek regulatory approval to increase its ownership in the Norfolk thrift holding company beyond 10 percent.
A partnership consisting of Mid-Atlantic Investors of Columbia and Jerry Zucker, chief executive officer of InterTech Group of North Charleston said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had acquired 123,600 CENIT shares in late February and early March.
CENIT Bancorp is the parent of the thrift CENIT Bank.
Mid-Atlantic Investors said it bought the shares for investment and ``to take actions which may enhance the value of the securities as an investment.''
The partners said in their SEC filing that they may propose candidates for election to CENIT's board of directors and may encourage a partnership between CENIT and ``some third person.''
John O. Guthrie, CENIT's chief financial officer, said that CENIT's management received a copy of the SEC filing Monday but had no comment.
CENIT, which has agreed to acquire Princess Anne Bank of Virginia Beach later this year, had assets of $495.87 million and shareholders' equity of $36.23 million at the end of 1994.
Mid-Atlantic and Zucker, also a partner in Mid-Atlantic, purchased their shares in CENIT for $25.88 to $29.50 each from Feb. 23 to March 2, according to the SEC filing.
Mid-Atlantic and its partners own and control 26,000 shares of the total stake, or 2.1 percent of the shares outstanding. Zucker retains sole ownership over the remaining 97,600 shares, or 7.8 percent of Cenit's outstanding shares.
That stake was purchased with $3.3 million of personal funds, Mid-Atlantic working capital and on margin.
CENIT's shares, which trade in the NASDAQ National Market System, closed Monday at $30.50 a share, up $1.875 for the day. The price has climbed steadily since Dec. 20, when it dipped to $20 a share, the lowest point in the past 52 weeks.
Major shareholders in CENIT, which has about 1.24 million shares outstanding, include some institutional investors. These include Keefe Managers Inc. with 127,000 shares of CENIT stock, John Hancock Advisors with 99,500 shares, and Fidelity Puritan Trust with 98,600 shares, according to Bloomberg Business News. by CNB