NEW YORK-Lucent Technologies Inc. launched itself into the public equity market last Thursday with an initial public offering of more than 112 million shares of common stock priced at $27 per share, reportedly the largest IPO in U.S. history. At the end of the first day’s trading the stock closed at $30.62 after reaching $32 earlier in the day. The total offering was worth more than $3 billion.
The company, which was formed from the restructuring of AT&T Corp. into three separate, publicly held entities, provides a range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, consumer and business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Laboratories is its research and development arm.
Lucent said net proceeds from the offering will be used to repay about $2 billion of short-term working capital indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
The company said it will have a total of more than 636 million shares outstanding after the offering with AT&T retaining about 83 percent of the common stock. AT&T has announced its intention to divest that ownership interest by December via a tax-free distribution to its shareholders.
Lucent’s shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LU. Analysts attribute the strong reception to the IPO to the growth prospectus for the company and for the telecommunications equipment industry.
