WCI boosts IPO plans

BONITA SPRINGS — WCI Communities boosted its plans for an initial public offering of stock to $222 million, according to a regulatory filing today.

WCI, a homebuilder and developer that emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009, increased its offering on the New York Stock Exchange from $150 million initially. The company didn't cite a reason for the increase and company officials couldn't be reached to discuss it.

However, WCI issued a statement saying current stockholders plan to also sell shares to the public alongside the company's offering. The company expects to receive net proceeds of $135.5 million from the IPO.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, WCI says it now plans to sell nearly 9.7 million shares at a maximum price of $23 per share to raise $222.4 million. The stock symbol will be WCIC, though the filing did not indicate a date for the IPO.

“We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition and development of land and home construction,” the SEC filing reads.

This is the second time WCI is selling shares to the public. In 2002, Tampa developer Al Hoffman took WCI public when he combined his company, Florida Design Communities, with Westinghouse Communities and raised $130 million. Hoffman sold his stake in 2006 when he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Portugal and the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 during the real estate collapse.

Creditors have since restructured the company, and it is benefiting from the real estate recovery. WCI recently reported it earned $586,000 on revenues of $53.7 million in the first quarter ending March 31 compared with a $6.7 million loss on revenues of $33.1 million in the same quarter one year ago.