Tennessee Commerce Bancorp, Inc. Announces Common Stock Offering

FRANKLIN, Tenn., July 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tennessee Commerce Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:TNCC) announced today that it has begun its marketing efforts in connection with the underwritten public offering of its common stock, to be offered pursuant to a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

The Company expects to sell up to $60 million of its common stock in the underwritten public offering. The price of the common stock will be determined by agreement of the Company and the underwriters at the time of the offering. Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. is serving as sole-book running manager and Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc., FIG Partners, LLC and Odeon Capital Group LLC are serving as co-managers for the offering. The Company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15%of the total number of shares to be sold by the Company in the offering to cover over-allotments, if any. At the Company's request, the underwriters have reserved up to 5% of the shares of common stock for sale in the offering to the Company's directors, officers, employees and related persons at the same price as offered to other investors. The common stock will be issued pursuant to a prospectus filed as part of the Company's registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933.

The Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from the offering (i) to fund organic growth, (ii) to enhance the Company's depository franchise, including possible FDIC-assisted transactions, (iii) to acquire distressed assets from the FDIC if favorable terms are available, (iv) to pay off $8.75 million of existing indebtedness at the parent level and (v) for general corporate purposes. The Company may contribute a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to the capital of its subsidiary, Tennessee Commerce Bank, which would use those proceeds for expansion, which in the case of transactions with the FDIC would be subject to receipt of any required regulatory approvals.