Hungry-Man Investors: Pinnacle Foods IPO Prices at $20
The initial public offering of Pinnacle Foods priced at $20 a share, at the high end of the expected $18 to $20 range.
"This offering saw a lot of atypical demand for an IPO, including from dividend mutual funds, because of its promise to begin paying a hefty dividend," said Sam Hamadeh of PrivCo, a research firm specializing in private companies. "I think the shares could pop because of that."
The offering, which consisted of 29 million shares, raised a total of $580 million.
Barclays and BofA Merrill Lynch are lead underwriters for the offering.
The stock is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday under the ticker symbol "PF."
Among Pinnacle Foods' brands are Vlasic, Swanson TV dinners, Open Pit, Duncan Hines, Mrs. Buttersworth, Log Cabin, Hungry Man, Lender's, Mrs. Paul's and Birds Eye.
The company, which was acquired by Blackstone in April 2007, manufactures branded food products in North America and had net sales of $2.5 billion in fiscal 2012.
Large companies that were taken over by private equity firms during the 2005-2007 buyout heyday are starting to tap the public markets as U.S. stock markets rally to record highs.
Private equity-supported companies such as Bain Capital-backed Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc, Apollo Global Management-supported Norwegian Cruise Line and Madison Dearborn-backed Boise Cascade have had an impressive run on the markets after listing earlier this year.
A host of other private equity-backed companies are also gearing up for IPOs this year.
Technology products retailer CDW and eye-care company Bausch & Lomb, backed by private equity firms, filed with U.S. regulators last week to go public.
