"We are happy that we were able to help structure andparticipate in Guaranty raising $600 million of capital," CarlIcahn, chairman of New York City-based Icahn Capital LP, says in apress release. "This investment helps to strengthen Guaranty'sbalance sheet and position them more strongly to navigate throughthe current credit cycle and capitalize on opportunities in thefuture." Guaranty Financial is the second largest publicly tradedfinancial services holding company headquartered in Texas and oneof the 50 largest publicly traded financial services companiesbased in the US in terms of asset size.

A spokesman declined to tell GlobeSt.com much more than what wasin the release, but acknowledges the private placement transactionsand rights offering were conducted to improve the company's capitalratios, including its commercial lending till. "We werewell-capitalized before the infusion," he adds, "these actions justtake it beyond those standards."

Guaranty entered into the private placement transactions byissuing 5.54 million shares of convertible preferred cumulativepreferred stock at $51.70 per share, for an aggregate purchaseprice of nearly $287 million. A separate purchase agreement focusedon subordinated debt issued by Guaranty Bank and, in the aggregate,638,000 shares of convertible preferred stock at a $275-millionpurchase price. Once approved by Guaranty's stockholders, theconvertible preferred stock can be exercised, with one share of thestock immediately being converted to 10 shares of Guaranty's commonstock.