Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has commenced an initial public offering of 45,000,000 of its common shares. Exalt is the former coatings business of DuPont.
The shares will be offered by certain affiliates of The Carlyle Group, which purchased the business for $4.5 billion.
The anticipated initial offering price is between $18.00 and $21.00 per share.
The selling shareholders have also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 6,750,000 common shares. Axalta will not receive proceeds from the offering, including from any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional common shares.
Axalta has applied for listing of its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “AXTA.”
Axalta has its headquarters in Philadelphia and offices in Delaware County, Pa, but maintained some R&D activities in Delaware.
The sale of the company has been a bone of contention between DuPont and Triad, a company that wants DuPont to split up its operations. Triad, according to a Wall Street Journal story, claims DuPont “gave away” the coatings business.
Th degree of success on the pubic offering would go a ways in answering whether that took place.
