Avantor Boosts IPO to 205 Million Shares, Cuts Expected Price

By Colin Kellaher

Chemical-materials maker Avantor Inc. Thursday raised the number of shares it plans to sell in its initial public offering but reduced the expected price range.

The Radnor, Pa., company said it will now offer 205 million shares at an anticipated price of $14 to $15 each.

Avantor previously planned to sell 154 million shares at $18 to $21 apiece.

At the $14.50 midpoint of the new range, Avantor said it expects net proceeds of about $3.29 billion if the underwriters exercise their option to buy an additional 30.75 million shares, down from about $3.32 billion previously.

However, the company said it now expects to net up to $830 million from a concurrent offering of preferred stock, up from $553 million previously.

Avantor said it will use proceeds from both offerings to redeem its existing senior preferred stock and to repay debt.

After the IPO and assuming the exercise of the overallotment option, private-equity firm New Mountain Capital will own about 20% of Avantor, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will hold 12% and Canadian pension giant Public Sector Pension Investment Board will owns 4%, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Avantor said it has applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AVTR.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 16, 2019 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)

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