Quest Files to Sell 2.8 Million Shares

Quest Software Inc., which went public in August, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of 2.8 million common shares by the company and existing stockholders.

The stock sale will consist of 1 million shares that the company will seek to sell and 1.8 million shares that investors will offer, according to a registration statement filed with the SEC. The number of Quest shares outstanding will increase 2.6% to 39.9 million.

The Irvine software provider expects its share sales to raise $78.7 million after expenses, based on a share price of $83. The company won’t receive any of the proceeds from shares sold by existing investors.

Quest will use its proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital, expanding sales and marketing efforts, and product development. Some of the money may also be devoted to possible acquisitions and capital expenditures.

David Doyle, the company’s president, and Eyal Aronoff, vice president of technology, will each sell 250,000 shares through the offering, according to the registration. WI Software Investors LLC will sell 600,000 shares.

Quest, which went public at $14 a share, closed Tuesday at $76.75, down $3.06 a share.