PacifiCare Offering Raises $57.75 Million

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said it raised $57.75 million on Tuesday through a public offering of 3 million shares of non-voting class B common stock.

PacifiCare, a health maintenance organization based here, sold half the stock at $38.50 a share. The other 1.5 million shares were issued at the same price by the company’s majority shareholder, UniHealth America, a hospital holding company based in Burbank.

PacifiCare had intended to issue 6 million shares in July but held back half of the offering because the stock’s price had fallen to $23.25. After Tuesday’s sale of the remaining 3 million shares, the company’s stock closed at $43 in trading on the NASDAQ market.

The decision to sell now was based on market conditions and the political environment, said Terry Hartshorn, PacifiCare’s president and chief executive. He pointed out that both President George Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton have spoken during the debates about HMOs as partial solutions to the nation’s health-care crisis.

PacifiCare, which had revenue of $1.26 billion for its latest fiscal year, said it will use its portion of the proceeds as working capital and for general corporate purposes, including new products and services, geographic expansions and increased investment in existing operations. A portion of the proceeds may also be set aside for potential acquisitions, the company said.

PacifiCare raised $40 million in July, Hartshorn said.