Leslie’s Poolmart Again Sets Initial Stock Offering

Leslie’s Poolmart, a Chatsworth-based retailer of swimming pool supplies, said it again plans an initial public offering of stock that it hopes will raise up to $18 million.

The company plans to offer 1.9 million common shares to the public. An additional 500,000 would be sold by certain existing stockholders. The stock is expected to be priced between $8.50 and $9.50 a share, and the lead underwriter for the offering is Montgomery Securities.

Leslie’s proceeds would go toward reducing its debt. The company operates 90 stores in 22 states.

Leslie’s tried to go public last summer but, like many other recent proposed initial public offerings, the plans were shelved when the stock market slumped in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and a slowdown in the U.S. economy.