(By Balaseshan) Dean Foods Co.'s (NYSE:DF) spin-off subsidiary WhiteWave Foods Co. said it intends to raise up to $320 million in an initial public offering by selling 20 million Class A common shares at expected price of $14 to $16 per share range.
WhiteWave Foods, which sells Silk soy milk and Horizon Organic dairy products, has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the proposed IPO of about 12 percent of the company's Class A common stock.
The company estimates the net proceeds from the offering, after deducting the estimated underwriting discount, to be about $282 million, or about $324 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, assuming that the shares are sold at the midpoint of the price range, $15.00 per share.
WhiteWave said it would use the proceeds of the offering to pay back debt owed to Dean Foods, which in turn plans to use funds to repay a portion of its indebtedness under its senior secured credit facility.
WhiteWave also plans to use any balance net proceeds (including any proceeds from the exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option) to repay amounts outstanding under its senior secured credit facilities.
Under the WhiteWave Credit Agreement, the lenders have provided WhiteWave senior secured credit facilities of $1.35 billion: a five-year revolving credit facility of up to $850 million, a five-year term loan A-1 facility of $250 million and a seven-year term loan A-2 facility of $250 million.
The proceeds of the credit facilities will be used: to repay amounts outstanding under intercompany notes owed to Dean Foods upon completion of the IPO, to finance WhiteWave's working capital needs, and for general corporate purposes of WhiteWave and its subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business, including acquisitions.
WhiteWave has applied to list its Class A common stock on The New York Stock Exchange under the "WWAV" ticker symbol. The operations of WhiteWave will consist of Dean Foods' WhiteWave-Alpro business segment.
For the three months ended September 30, 2012, WhiteWave-Alpro net sales are expected to have increased 13% to $598 million, from $531 million for the same period in 2011.
The increase in net sales was driven by continued strong volume growth across the segment's coffee creamers and beverages and plant-based foods and beverages portfolios, led by product innovation and significant increases in marketing investments.
Dean Foods anticipates reporting WhiteWave-Alpro segment operating income of $64 million for the three months ended September 30, 2012, an expected 22 percent increase from the $53 million reported last year.
DF is trading up 12.10 percent at $16.86 on Wednesday. The stock has been trading between $9.16 and $17.50 for the past 52 weeks.