Smart Technologies plans $730.7 million initial public offering
By APFriday, June 25, 2010
Smart Technologies plans $730.7 million IPO
NEW YORK — Canada-based Smart Technologies Inc., which makes interactive whiteboards used in classrooms and workplaces, says it plans to raise up to $730.7 million in an initial public offering.
The company launched its first interactive whiteboard in 1991 and said in a regulatory filing it has shipped more than 1.6 million of them since. The company had revenue of $648 million in 2009, up 38 percent from a year earlier.
Smart plans to use the proceeds to repay debt and for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions. In April, the company bought NextWindow, a maker of optical touch screens used in electronic displays.
The company did not say how many shares it plans to issue, or at what price. Smart’s current main shareholders include its co-founders and chip maker Intel Corp.
It plans to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SMT.”
Its underwriters include Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, RBC Dominion and Credit Suisse among others.
