|
Conoco boosts IPO
|
 |
October 21, 1998: 6:06 p.m. ET
Oil refiner makes its record stock offering even bigger despite dry IPO market
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) -Energy firm Conoco Inc. on Wednesday increased the size of its record-setting initial public offering to raise up to $4.4 billion.
Conoco, which is being spun off from the chemicals giant DuPont Co., raised the number of shares it is offering to 191.456 million from the 150 million first planned, reflecting strong demand for the offering.
After the market closed Wednesday, Conoco shares were priced at $23, at the top of the $20 to $24 range initially announced by the company.
With the IPO price set, the offering is set to raise nearly $1 billion more than the $3.5 billion originally sought.
That would make it the largest initial public offering in Wall Street history. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is the lead underwriter.
The expanded offering comes amid an overwhelmingly dried-up market for IPOs that has resulted from recent stock market turbulence. A rocky market atmosphere can hurt the buying of a new issue.
Fund managers who follow initial offerings anticipate a good reception for the deal when share trading begins Thursday, partly as a result of the 3 to 4 percent dividend yield for the stock.
"It's what is giving the deal its stability," said Ben Holmes, analyst at data company IPO Pros.
Shares of DuPont (DD) closed down by 2-3/16 Wednesday to 62.
Early Thursday, the IPO for Japan's NTT Mobile Communications Network in Tokyo is expected to become the largest offering in the world, raising some $18.6 billion. 
-- from staff and wire reports
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
