Lucent Spinoff Agere Narrows IPO Price Range
Lucent Technologies'
(LU)
Agere Systems
narrowed the projected price range of its initial public offering today in an amended filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
.
Agere, which makes optical components that send and receive data and voice traffic, said the price range for its IPO of 370.3 million common shares would be $16 to $19 each, reducing the maximum potential proceeds to $7 billion from $7.4 billion.
About two weeks ago Lucent said the shares would be offered for a price between $15 and $20 each. Agere's suggested maximum market capitalization dropped to $25.4 billion from $26.7 billion as a result of the narrower price range.
Despite the new range, Agere will still be one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history, second only to last year's $9 billion offering of
AT&T Wireless
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, the wireless arm of
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.
A date for Agere's IPO, which is being handled by
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
as lead underwriter, has not yet been set. Once public, the company will be listed on the
New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol AGR.
The company should receive about $3.75 billion in proceeds if its 222.7 million shares sell for $17.50 each. Agere said it plans to use the money for general corporate purposes, including working capital. Morgan Stanley has the right to sell up to 147.7 million of the 370.3 million shares. Those proceeds would not go to Agere.
Lucent shares were up 10 cents to $12.77 in recent trading on the
New York Stock Exchange
.
