from the Tampa Bay Business Journal

An investment group led by Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Co. agreed to make a $300 million equity investment in Colonial BancGroup Inc.

The deal was announced late Tuesday as Colonial, which operates one of the largest banks in the Tampa Bay area, faced a deadline set by regulators to raise its capital ratio.

Colonial expects to continue to operate as a stand-alone, publicly traded company with an independent board of directors and management team, a release said. Following completion of the deal, the new investors will own about 75 percent of Colonial’s outstanding common stock, the release said. They’ll also get five seats on Colonial’s 15-member board and get to have a say on five other board members, in collaboration with Colonial.

Under terms of the agreement, the investors will buy preferred stock that can be converted into common stock at a price of 50 cents a share, provided Colonial shareholders agree to increase the number of authorized shares of the stock, the release said.

Colonial has 30 days to shop around for a better deal. If it finds one, it has to pay a $10 million termination fee to the investors, the release said.

Taylor Bean & Whitaker, a mortgage company based in Ocala, holds a thrift charter after buying Platinum Community Bancshares in suburban Chicago. Colonial is expected to convert to a federal savings and loan association after the deal closes, the release said.

Colonial BancGroup (NYSE: CN, headquartered in Montgomery, Ala., operates 351 branches in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada and Texas with about $26 billion in assets. Exposure to Florida’s real estate collapse put Colonial in the red last year, losing $880.5 million.

In the Tampa Bay area, Colonial Bank had 50 offices and $2.7 billion in deposits as of June 30, according to the most recent information from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.