Coudersport, Pa. -- Adelphia Communications Corp.
successfully launched an initial public offering of stock in its Hyperion
Telecommunications Inc. subsidiary, and the IPO got off to a solid start.
Shares in Hyperion (NASDAQ: HYPT) started trading last
Tuesday, priced at $16, which was at the upper end of the planned pricing scale. The
offering size rose to 12.5 million Class A shares from a previously planned 10 million. On
its first day of trading, Hyperion rose to as high as $20.13 per share, before closing at
$17.38, and it then closed at $18.06 last Wednesday.
Adelphia tried to take Hyperion public in 1996, but it was
forced to withdraw the offering in the face of weak demand. This time around, strong
demand prompted underwriters -- led by Salomon Smith Barney -- to bump up the size of the
offering. Credit Suisse First Boston and NationsBanc Montgomery Securities LLC were
co-managing underwriters.
The proceeds were earmarked for capital projects, possibly
going toward increasing Hyperion's stake in existing competitive local-exchange
carrier networks. Most Hyperion networks were built with local cable systems or utilities
as partners, and Hyperion has been rolling up some of those partnerships.
Hyperion operates 18 fiber networks in 46 cities, mostly in
the MSO's Northeastern territories. Its customers are mainly long-distance carriers
and businesses. It has plans to add 14 new networks in 29 cities over the next 18 months,
according to securities filings
Adelphia had estimated that it would take in about $150
million through the IPO.
The MSO owned about 88 percent of Hyperion, through its
Class B shares (convertible to Class A stock), before the offering. Adelphia also said
that it plans to buy some Hyperion Class A shares itself. It signed an agreement to pay
some $49.9 million in cash for about 3.3 million shares, or the offering price minus the
underwriting discount. And it will waive $54.6 million in Hyperion "indebtedness and
payables owed to Adelphia" for another 3.6 million shares.
