Catalent Inc., the parent company of Catalent Pharma Solutions, has priced its initial public offering (IPO) and is now a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The company priced its IPO of 42,500,000 shares of its common stock at $20.50 per share. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 31, 2014 under the ticker symbol “CTLT,” and the offering is expected to close on August 5, 2014, subject to customary closing conditions. Catalent has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,375,000 at the IPO price.

Catalent says that the proceeds of the offering will be principally used to redeem more than $800 million (estimated at midpoint) of Catalent's currently outstanding debt. The company says that this will allow the company to reduce its interest expense, enable future potential internal and external growth strategies, and to continue investments into new technologies, capabilities, global development, and manufacturing facilities and capacity.

Examples of recent investments include new facilities for the company’s softgel and clinical supply businesses in China and Brazil, a new $20 million Biologics Center of Excellence for cell-line development and biomanufacturing in Madison, Wisconsin, and a $35-million ongoing expansion in the company’s Oral Advanced Technologies manufacturing site in Winchester, Kentucky.

Catalent was formed in April 2007, when it was acquired by affiliates of the private-equity group, the Blackstone Group L.P. Prior to that, it was the core of the Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services (PTS) segment of Cardinal Health, Inc. PTS was created by Cardinal through a series of acquisitions beginning with R.P. Scherer Corporation in 1998. Catalent posted revenues of $1.8 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, based on the company’s S-1 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Catalent