Insurer Met Life Files for IPO That Could Set Record
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. filed plans Tuesday for an initial public offering that could raise as much as $6.5 billion, the most ever in a U.S. sale of new shares.
The insurer plans to go public in March after 85 years of ownership by its policyholders. After the sale, the New York-based company would distribute shares or cash to the 11.1 million customers holding policies.
Met Life said it expects to sell its shares for between $14 and $24 each. It indicated it could sell between 236 million and 288 million shares and issue 576 million for its policyholders. No underwriter was disclosed.
Others, including Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America and John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co., also plan to switch to public ownership to have stock with which to buy rivals, pay employees and raise money. It’s a way they can expand as the industry competes for the savings of baby boomers nearing retirement.
“Once they’ve gone public, they’re not going to want to stay still,” said Ann G. Perry, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service.
Such an amount would surpass United Parcel Service Inc.’s U.S.-record $5.5-billion IPO this month. But Met Life’s IPO would still lag the world record $19-billion stock sale this month by Enel, Italy’s state electricity company.
The 131-year-old insurer is sure to be one of the five largest U.S. life insurers by market value. Analysts said it could be worth between $10 billion and $20 billion.
Meanwhile, nine companies began trading Tuesday on Nasdaq after raising almost $1 billion the day before in a rush to get IPO deals done before the Thanksgiving holiday. It was the largest number of initial share sales since July.
Top gainers included Digital Impact Inc. (ticker symbol: DIGI), an e-mail advertising firm, up $40.50 to $55.50; OpenTV Corp. (OPTV), whose software enables consumers to shop by selecting items advertised on television, up $42.75 to $62.75; and Deltathree.com (DDDC), which provides cheap Internet phone service, up $14 to $29.
Official Payments (OPAY), whose technology lets people pay taxes and parking tickets using their credit cards, rose $7.50 to $22.50; TeleCorp PCS (TLCP), AT&T; Wireless Services Inc.’s largest affiliate, rose $13 to $33; GetThere.com Inc. (GTHR) rose $8.50 to $24.50; Management Network Group (TMNG) rose $12 to $29.94; and NDS Group Ltd. (NNDS) rose $8 to $28.
The only flat offering was SmarterKids.com Inc. (SKDS), an online retailer of children’s educational toys and software, which closed unchanged at $14.
