Southwest Gas unit Centuri jumps 13% in strong market debut (updated)

Centuri Holdings

18/04/2024 19:04

(Adds details and context throughout)
       April 18 (Reuters) - Shares of Centuri Holdings
 CTRI.N , a unit of Southwest Gas Holdings  SWX.N , jumped 13%
in their market debut on Thursday, in another sign of a revival
in investor demand for new stocks.
    Centuri, which builds and maintains energy networks that
power millions of homes and businesses across the United States
and Canada, sold 12.4 million shares priced at $21 apiece to
raise roughly $260.4 million in its initial public offering.
    The stock opened for trading at $23.75 apiece, valuing the
company at about $2.06 billion. Centuri priced its IPO at the
top end of its marketed range of $18-$21.
    Funds affiliated with billionaire and activist investor Carl
 Icahn also purchased about 2.6 million shares of Centuri in a
separate private placement for proceeds of about $54.4 million.
    After a two-year dry spell, IPOs in the United States are in
the early innings of a rebound in 2024 on firming bets of a soft
landing for the economy and a broad rally in the capital
markets.
    Last year, parent Southwest Gas said it plans to separate
Centuri through an IPO and use the proceeds to cut its debt and
reduce its ownership after the launch.
    UBS Investment Bank, BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan are the
lead underwriters of the offering.
     

 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com))