Virgin Mobile boosts size of IPO
Wireless phone venture Virgin Mobile USA Inc. boosted its planned initial public offering to as much as $538 million, the second increase since the sale was announced in May.
The total assumes an offering price of as much as $17 a share, Virgin Mobile said Tuesday in a regulatory filing. The company plans to sell as many as 31.6 million shares. In July, Virgin Mobile said it would raise as much as $506 million, five times as much as initially proposed.
The venture, formed in 2002 by Virgin Group Ltd. and Sprint Nextel Corp., targets younger consumers, teaming with Yahoo Inc. and Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks to provide games, music news and ring tones.
About half of the company’s 4.8 million customers are under 35, according to the filing.
Virgin Mobile said it would use proceeds from its sale to pay $195 million in debt, including $45 million it owes Sprint. It also would pay Sprint $160.8 million for part of its stake.
