NEW YORK-Orange plc, a British cellular carrier, sold an initial public offering of common stock March 27 that netted approximately $951 million.
In January, Orange, Bristol, England, was formed as a holding company by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a Hong Kong company that is Orange’s majority owner, and by British Aerospace plc, its minority owner. The IPO proceeds will repay debts to Hutchison and British Aerospace which have served as principal financing sources for Orange.
The Orange digital personal communications network began commercial service two years ago, and now is available to about 85 percent of the population in the United Kingdom, excluding Northern Ireland. By the end of next year, Orange anticipates increasing that coverage to at least 95 percent.
Through Hutchison Cellular Services, Orange has been a service provider since 1989 for the Cellnet and Vodafone cellular telephone networks in the United Kingdom. Through Hutchison Paging, it offers a range of tone, numeric and alphanumeric paging products and services, also in the United Kingdom.
Last week’s IPO comprises about 20 percent to 25 percent of the holding company’s common stock. It reduces somewhat the ownership stake that Hutchison and British Aerospace held prior to the sale, but maintains the two as majority and minority owners, respectively.
The IPO comprised 325 million “ordinary” shares, of which 26 million were offered in the United Kingdom. Another 169 million ordinary shares were sold abroad in countries outside the United Kingdom. And some 130 million ordinary shares were sold in the United States and Canada. In the United States, the stock was sold in the form of American Depository Receipts, each of which equals five ordinary shares. The value of a single ADR in the IPO was $15.62.
Orange’s ADR’s trade on Nasdaq under the symbol ORNGY.
In the United States, lead underwriters for the deal were Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Kleinwort Benson North America Inc., both in New York.
