Metalclad Proceeds With Stock Sale After Crash, Nets $2.6 Million

While many companies canceled plans to sell stock to the public after October’s market crash, Metalclad Corp. in Anaheim has raised $2.6 million through a secondary public offering.

Metalclad, which provides asbestos removal and insulation services, sold 1.3 million shares of stock for $2.50 each. The sale yielded about $3.3 million before expenses, according to company spokesman Bruce Haglund.

A few days before the Oct. 19 crash, Metalclad said it was seeking Securities and Exchange Commission approval for a secondary stock offering. A secondary offering refers to the sale of new shares by a company that previously has sold stock to the public.

Metalclad stuck with its plans despite the market collapse. The shares were sold after the SEC cleared the issue last week.

“We felt our company was strong enough for the market, and we weren’t going to back away,” said Mark Tomberlin, Metalclad’s chief financial officer.

Metalclad’s stock price has remained steady through the market decline. Haglund said that in early October, potential investors were bidding $2.50 a share for the stock. The stock closed Tuesday at $2.50.

Tomberlin said the company plans to use the stock sale proceeds to reduce debt and expand its asbestos and environmental pollution control business.

The offering, which increases to 4.3 million the company’s total shares outstanding, also qualifies the stock for listing on the National Assn. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation system.