TriCare of Irvine Seeks $12.3 Million in Public Offering

TriCare Inc., an occupational health-care services company, said it hopes to raise $12.3 million for company expansion in a public offering that began Tuesday.

TriCare, which first announced the offering last month, began selling 1 million shares of common stock at $13.50 per share, with about $1.2 million of the proceeds going to cover the underwriters’ discount and expenses.

The Irvine-based company said the money it raises will be used either to finance acquisitions or to expand its operations in California.

“We are evaluating several Southern California companies providing medical services to injured workers for possible acquisition,” said Lawrence S. Wasserman, TriCare’s chief financial officer. He said TriCare wants to acquire another company by next spring.

TriCare has granted the underwriters--Dain Bosworth Inc. of Minneapolis and Volpe, Welty & Co. of San Francisco--an option to buy up to an additional 150,000 shares of common stock at $13.50 each, for a total cost of $2.02 million, minus their 6% underwriters fee. The underwriters have 30 days to buy the new shares.

TriCare stock, traded over the counter, remained unchanged Tuesday, at $13.75. The company went public Jan. 26, 1990, with an issue price of $6.50; it will have 4.74 million shares of common stock outstanding after this offering.

Last year, TriCare, which evaluates, treats and rehabilitates injured workers, acquired Occu-Care Inc. in Irvine, which provides industrial medical treatment for employees.