NEW YORK-Convergys Corp. scaled back and sold an initial public offering Aug. 12 that is the prelude to its spinoff from Cincinnati Bell Inc.
Convergys sold 13 million shares of common stock at $15 each through an underwriting syndicate, jointly led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Smith Barney, both based in New York.
Late last month, Convergys filed an amended IPO registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that proposed to sell 18 million shares priced between $17 and $19.
Convergys is a new holding company for two Cincinnati Bell operating subsidiaries: Convergys Information Management Group, formerly known as Cincinnati Bell Information Systems Inc., which provides customized billing, and Matrixx Marketing Inc., which provides management tools for enhanced customer retention.
Convergys also will hold Cincinnati Bell’s minority interest in a partnership venture with Ameritech Corp. that serves central and southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky.
Within six months of the IPO, Cincinnati Bell plans a tax-free distribution of the remaining equity stake in Convergys to the parent company’s shareholders.
Cincinnati Bell said it plans to use proceeds of the Convergys IPO to repay some of the debt it incurred in order to purchase Transtech from AT&T Corp. in February.
