Durham, N.C., drug firm goes public, raises less than recently expected.

Publication: Herald-Sun (Durham, NC)

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2005 The Herald-Sun

Byline: Anne Krishnan

Feb. 5--DURHAM -- Icagen Inc. made its public debut Thursday, raising $37.2 million and marking Durham's first initial public offering in more than four years.

But while local boosters cheered the IPO, the pricing of Icagen's 5 million shares at $8 each still showed a significant decrease from the firm's initial, or even recent, expectations.

When the drug development firm filed its intentions with regulators in April to go public, it said it hoped to raise up to $86.2 million through the sale of stock. Last month, the company said it expected to price its shares between $10 and $12 each, raising between $50 million and $69 million.

Icagen could raise an additional $5.6 million if underwriters J.P. Morgan, UBS Investment Bank and CIBC World Markets buy an extra 750,000 shares to cover over-allotments. The underwriters also take a share of the IPO proceeds.

But the lower pricing means demand wasn't as high as expected for Icagen's shares. The stock, which began trading on the Nasdaq National Market...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.