Pinnacle Gives Market Birds Eye View, Shares Leap 12 Percent
Shares of Pinnacle Foods, the maker of Birds Eye frozen foods, Duncan Hines frosting and cake mixes and Vlasic pickles, opened up more than 12 percent Thursday.
The company had raised $580 million in an initial public offering of stock.
The company's IPO of 20 million shares priced at $20 per share late Wednesday, the high end of its expected range of $18 to $20 per share. That suggests healthy demand from investors. Shares are expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the "PF" ticker symbol.
The Parsippany, N.J., company expects proceeds of $545.2 million after paying expenses, which it plans to use to lower debt. The company will still carry about $2.1 billion in debt.
The banks managing the deal may buy another 4.4 million shares to sell, increasing the proceeds for Pinnacle Foods.
Pinnacle Foods, which says its products can be found in 85 percent of all U.S. households, reported revenue of $2.48 billion in 2012 and net income of about $52.6 million. Between 2008 and 2012, the company reported sales growth of 59 percent.
Private equity firm Blackstone Group bought Pinnacle Foods in 2007, and still owns about 70 percent of the company after the IPO.