Amerant Bancorp Inc. (Form: 8-K, Received: 01/31/2022 17:09:22)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 31, 2022

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Florida

001-38534

65-0032379

(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation

(Commission
file number)

(IRS Employer
Identification Number)




220 Alhambra Circle
Coral Gables, Florida						33134
(Address of principal executive offices)						(Zip Code)
(305) 460-8728 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:


☐			Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☐			Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐			Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐			Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of each class	Trading Symbols	Name of exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock	AMTB	NASDAQ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).


Emerging growth company			☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On January 31, 2022, Amerant Bancorp Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing the successful completion of its previously announced $50 million buyback program for its shares of Class A Common Stock and further announced that the Board authorized a new share repurchase program (the “New Repurchase Program”), pursuant to which the Company may purchase, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $50 million of its shares of Class A common stock. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Under the New Repurchase Program, the Company may repurchase shares of the Class A common stock through open market purchases, by block purchase, in privately-negotiated transactions, or otherwise in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares of Class A common stock and the timing of such purchases will depend upon market conditions, regulatory requirements, other corporate liquidity requirements and priorities and other factors as may be considered in the Company’s sole discretion. Repurchases may also be made pursuant to a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or other regulatory restrictions. The New Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any particular amount of Class A common stock and may be suspended or discontinued at any time without notice.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits


Number			Exhibit
99.1			Press Release, dated January 31, 2022
104			Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: January 31, 2022

Amerant Bancorp Inc.

By:

/s/ Julio V. Pena

Name: Julio V. Pena

Title: Senior Vice President, Securities Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary


						CONTACTS:
						Investors
						Laura Rossi
						InvestorRelations@amerantbank.com
						(305) 460-8728

						Media
						Silvia M. Larrieu
						MediaRelations@amerantbank.com
						(305) 441-8414

AMERANT BANCORP INC. ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PREVIOUSLY APPROVED

SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM AND NEW $50 MILLION SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, January 31, 2022. Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTB) (the “Company” or “Amerant”) today announced that it successfully completed its previously announced $50 million buyback program for its shares of Class A Common Stock and further announced that the Board authorized a new share repurchase program (the “New Repurchase Program”), pursuant to which the Company may purchase, from time to time, up to an aggregate amount of $50 million of its shares of Class A common stock.

Jerry Plush, Vice Chairman, President and CEO, remarked, “We are pleased to announce the successful completion of our previously approved buyback program and the launch of a new $50 million program. This new buyback program underscores the confidence Amerant’s Board of Directors and management continue to have in our performance. Along with the recent declaration and payment of cash dividends, these actions demonstrate our commitment to effectively manage the Company’s capital levels while increasing total return to our shareholders.”

Repurchases under the New Repurchase Program may be made in the open market, by block purchase, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Repurchases of the Company’s shares of Class A Common Stock (and the timing thereof) will depend upon market conditions, regulatory requirements, other corporate liquidity requirements and priorities and other factors as may be considered in the Company’s sole discretion. Repurchases may also be made pursuant to a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or other regulatory restrictions. The New Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to

repurchase any particular amount of Class A common stock and may be suspended or discontinued at any time without notice.

About Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: AMTB)

Amerant Bancorp Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida since 1979. The Company operates through its main subsidiary, Amerant Bank, N.A. (the “Bank”), as well as its other subsidiaries: Amerant Investments, Inc., Elant Bank and Trust Ltd., and Amerant Mortgage, LLC. The Company provides individuals and businesses in the U.S., as well as select international clients, with deposit, credit and wealth management services. The Bank, which has operated for over 40 years, is the second largest community bank headquartered in Florida. The Bank operates 24 banking centers – 17 in South Florida and 7 in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit investor.amerantbank.com.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding the increase of total return to shareholders as well as statements with respect to the Company’s objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “should,” “indicate,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “point to,” “project,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “goals,” “outlooks,” “modeled,” “dedicated,” “create,” and other similar words and expressions of the future.

Forward-looking statements, including those as to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance, achievements, or financial condition to be materially different from future results, performance, achievements, or financial condition expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You should not rely on any forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. You should not expect us to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, together with those risks and uncertainties described in “Risk factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which are available at the SEC’s website www.sec.gov.