Initial Public Offerings Planned by 2 Companies
Two high-technology companies announced Tuesday that they have filed registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission for initial public stock offerings. They are:
-Spectragraphics Corp., a manufacturer of hardware and software products used in computer-aided design and manufacturing systems. The company hopes to raise about $10 million in offering 1,538,462 shares priced at $9 to $11 per share.
-Pulse Engineering Inc., which until last year was a subsidiary of Varian Associates Inc. The firm plans to raise up to $13.5 million in a 2-million-share offering.
Of the shares available in the Spectragraphics offering, 385,000 are newly issued and are being sold by the company. In addition, 901,282 are being sold by warrant holder Apollo Computer Inc., and 252,180 are being sold by existing shareholders. Spectragraphics will collect proceeds from the shares it is selling as well as from exercising of the stock warrants by Apollo.
Founded in 1981, Spectragraphics has financed its operations to date with more than $15 million in venture capital from investors including Weiss Peck & Greer of San Francisco and Morgens, Waterfall & Vintiadis of New York. San Diego investment firm Henry & Co. also has a stake in the company.
Having accumulated losses totaling $9 million since its founding, Spectragraphics lost $1.2 million last year on revenues of $17.3 million. President Robert Blumberg said the company has been profitable in its last three quarters, however.
Managing underwriter for the offering is Donaldson, Lufkin, Jenrette Securities Corp.
Seven members of the Pulse Engineering management, led by current Chairman and Chief Executive David Flowers, completed an $18-million leveraged buyout of the company from former parent Varian in June, 1986, with financial assistance from Oppenheimer & Co., a New York investment firm.
Of the 2 million shares being offered, 1.55 million are being sold by the company and the remainder by existing shareholders. After the offering, in which shares are expected to sell at $8 to $10 each, the total of outstanding Pulse shares will be 6.7 million, Flowers said.
Founded in 1956, Pulse has 3,000 employees, of whom only 180 work in San Diego. The manufacturer of power management and conditioning equipment and components has most of its workers at nine plants in five foreign countries, including two in Tijuana.
In fact, part of the proceeds from the stock offering will be used to build additional foreign plants, Flowers said.
Pulse posted net income of $1.4 million on sales of $40 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, contrasted with “negligible” net income on revenue of $28 million the previous 12 months. Co-managers of the stock offering will be Oppenheimer & Co. and Morgan, Olmstead, Kennedy & Gardner.
