Lilly's Guidant
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Holding company for five Lilly device firms begins trading Dec. 14 on the New York Stock Exchange. The firm's initial public offering price of $14.50 per share was less than the $15.50 to $17.50 range the company had projected in a registration statement filed in September ("The Gray Sheet" Sept. 19, p. 3). Guidant cited the volatility of the overall market and sluggish recent sales of new issues as reasons for the lower price. The 12.4 mil. shares of stock being offered represents about a 20 percent stake of Guidant; Lilly retains the remaining 80 percent. The offering will net Guidant about $167.1 mil., slated for the reduction of debt and repayment to Lilly for purchase of "certain international assets." Underwriters Morgan Stanley & Co., Goldman Sachs International, Merrill Lynch International Limited, and J. P. Morgan Securities, Ltd. retain an over-allotment option for 1.9 mil. additional shares