Saturday, October 23, 2010

First Wind IPO next week

Wind farm developer First Wind Holdings Inc. is expected to announce an initial public offering of up to $312 million next week, according to IPO tracker Renaissance Capital.

The Boston-based company is expected to price the 12 million shares in the offering in the range of $24 to $26, Renaissance Capital reported.

The company would join the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “WIND.” Lead underwriters are Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman, Sachs & Co.

First Wind said in a regulatory filing that it intends to use approximately $78 million of the IPO proceeds to pay off a loan that comes with a 17 percent annual interest rate and matures in March 2013. The company plans to pay off the loan next March. Remaining proceeds would be used for project development and construction costs and general corporate purposes, the company said.

First Wind has waited more than two years for the right time to hold its IPO. The company first filed its IPO intentions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2008.

First Wind’s operating revenue came in at $40.7 million for the first six months of 2010, compared with $20.9 million a year earlier, the company has reported in an SEC filing.

The company’s operating loss also doubled on a year-over-year basis during the first half of the year, to $42.6 million from $21.4 million, the company reported.

First Wind has developed wind projects that are operational in Maine, New York, Hawaii and Utah.

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