Lucent's Agere IPO set at 370.3 mln shares, $15-$20 each
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WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Agere Systems Inc., the
communications semiconductor firm that is being separated from
Lucent Technologies Inc. , said on Wednesday it plans to
sell as many as 370.3 million Class A common shares at a price
of $15 to $20 each in an initial public offering.
Agere, based in Allentown, Pa., disclosed the IPO terms in
a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It
originally filed an IPO prospectus in early December.
Agere is offering 222.7 million shares, with the other
147.6 million shares being offered by Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter, the lead manager of the IPO.
Morgan plans to acquire the shares from Lucent in a private
deal prior to the closing of the IPO in exchange for debt
obligations of Lucent held by Morgan Stanley, the SEC filing
said.
If that exchange doesn't occur, only 222.7 million shares
will be sold.
Agere hopes to net about $3.75 billion in proceeds if the
shares end up selling for $17.50 apiece.
The money may be used for general corporate purposes,
including working capital, capital expenditures, debt service
and potential acquisitions. Agere has applied for a New York
Stock Exchange listing under the symbol AGR .
Agere makes optoelectronic components that send and receive
light that carries data and voice traffic over optical
networks. In fiscal 2000, the company posted a net loss of $76
million on revenues of $4.7 billion.
Lucent was the biggest customer in fiscal 1998 through
2000, according to the filing.
After the IPO is completed, and assuming the exchange
between Morgan Stanley and Lucent, Lucent will own 72.3 percent
of Agere's total outstanding common stock.
Lucent shares fell 48 cents to $17.38 on the New York Stock
Exchange Wednesday. They had been as high as $75.25 in the past
52 weeks.
REUTERS
Rtr 11:34 02-07-01 |
