Imperial Credit Commercial Files Plans for Stock Offering

Imperial Credit Commercial Holdings Inc. said Friday it has filed a registration statement for an initial public offering of up to 7 million of its common shares at $15.

However, the shares will be offered only to employees and holders of stock and stock options of the new company’s parent, publicly traded Imperial Credit Mortgage Holdings Inc. The companies will continue to share headquarters, staff and management, said Joseph R. Tomkinson, chief executive of Imperial Credit Mortgage.

Splitting the two, he said, means that operating expenses formerly absorbed entirely by Imperial Credit Mortgage will not be divided between both companies but will be only marginally higher. The result should be higher profit margins for both.

Imperial Credit Mortgage is a residential mortgage finance company. It formed Imperial Credit Commercial to operate as a real estate investment trust focusing solely on commercial multifamily properties, Tomkinson said.

Imperial Credit Mortgage, which went public in 1995, will retain a 9.8% interest in Imperial Credit Commercial. Existing management will retain an additional 3.5% of the stock, Tomkinson said.

PaineWebber Inc. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. are dealer managers for the offering, which is expected to close in June.

Imperial Credit Mortgage Holdings stock, traded on the American Stock Exchange, closed unchanged Friday at $22.75 a share.