Not too long ago, FDIC-assisted buyouts seemed like a bad idea. The restrictions on investors--on the time horizon of the investment and capital ratios--were seen as just too much. Some thought the way to go was to buy banks without FDIC assistance.

But for John Kanas--who led an effort to buy Florida-based BankUnited with a bevy of big name private equity funds including Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group and WL Ross--the endeavor is paying off. Kanas and his partners are poised to "skim off nearly $100 million in profits his private equity partners will make," Breakingviews reports.

Skim off is the ideal choice of words. But the idea is that Kanas has been quite savvy. He invested $23.5 million of his own money and was rewarded with the biggest slice of the pie.

Kanas apparently got the private equity firms to pay out 10 percent of their profits in so-called profits interest units--equity awards that come out of the private equity firms' take and goes to bank management. These units stand to do well once the stock starts trading, in part because of a loss-sharing deal with the FDIC. As of recently, the PIUs owed to Kanas are worth nearly $40 million. But as the stock goes up, the PIUs go up.

If the price-to-book multiple hits 2.25, Kanas could make $90 million in addition to the return on his personal investment, notes Breakingviews. Not bad. His partners fare well also, but not quite as well.

The IPO will be led by Morgan Stanley and Deutshce Bank.

For more:
- here's the article and the prospectus

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