Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc carried out its initial public offering Wednesday, selling 20 million shares at $18.50 each to raise $370m. The South Portland, Maine-based chipmaking pioneer received a cool welcome on the New York Stock Exchange, however, as the stock inched up just $0.25 to close at $18.75. The high for the day was $19.1875 on volume of 9.73 million shares.
The shares sold in the IPO represent a roughly 23% stake in the company, which is now valued at about $1.63bn based on yesterday’s closing price. Credit Suisse First Boston acted as lead underwriter for the offering, with Salomon Smith Barney, BancBoston Robertson Stephens and Deutsche Banc Alex Brown as co- managers. The shares are trading under the ticker FCS.
The company, which produces analog, discrete logic and non- volatile memory semiconductors, posted a loss of $123.9m for the fiscal year ended in May. Sales for the year were down 6.9% at $735.1m. In the year before, Fairchild had net income of $13.4m, or $0.20 per share, on revenue of $789.2m.
The offering brings Fairchild back into the realm of public companies after a two-year absence during which the semiconductor industry fell into a worldwide slump. The company was taken private in 1997 through a $550m management-led buyout. That group retains a 43% stake in Fairchild after the offering.
