Butterfield Bank is planning to raise about $250 million through an offering of 10.6 million shares in connection with its proposed initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a registration document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, it has indicated it plans to offer 5.9 million common shares, while a further 4.6 million shares will be offered by selling shareholders named in the prospectus.

The bank expects the price range of the IPO offering to be between $22 and $25 per common share.

Yesterday, the bank’s common share price closed at $19.40, up $1.80, on the Bermuda Stock Exchange. This follows a ten-for-one reverse share split that was approved by shareholders at a special meeting on August 30 and which has now taken effect.

The reverse share split was needed for the bank to meet the NYSE’s requirement that IPO shares have a minimum initial trading price of $4.

While the bank has indicated it will be offering 5.9 million common shares at the time of the proposed IPO, a further 4.6 million will be offered by named current shareholders.

The principal selling shareholders identified in the IPO registration document include The Wellcome Trust, which is offering about half of its 3.7 million shares, which would result in its beneficial ownership of the bank falling to 3.52 per cent.

Entities affiliated with the Carlyle Group currently hold 22.7 per cent of the bank’s common shares, and are offering to sell 1.4 million shares, which would reduce the group’s beneficial ownership of the bank to 17.48 per cent.

Rosebowl Western Ltd is offering approximately one million shares, while Alpenrose Ltd is offering 270,097.

The above resulting beneficial ownership percentages assume the shareholders do not exercise the option to purchase additional shares from the other selling shareholders.

At the beginning of August, when the bank announced its proposal to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, it stated: “Under the terms of the Investment Agreement dated March 2, 2010 and entered into between affiliates of the Carlyle Group and the bank, the bank agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to list the bank’s ordinary shares on an international stock exchange within a specified time period.”

In an interview with The Royal Gazette in February Michael Collins, Butterfield’s chief executive officer, said: “It’s one way to get greater liquidity for our shareholders.”

The bank has previously stated it will continue to trade on the BSX Index as well as any future NYSE listing.

Butterfield Bank has not commented on the latest information included on its F-1 form as it is observing “IPO quiet period restrictions”.