Francesca's raises $170M from IPO of 10M shares

Women's boutique chain Francesca's Holdings Corp. said Friday that it raised $170 million from its initial public offering of 10 million shares.

The IPO was priced at $17 per share, above the $14 to $16 range the Houston company had expected the stock to fetch.

Francesca's is offering about 2.9 million of the shares in the offering. Selling shareholders, which include CCMP Capital Advisors LLC affiliates, are offering approximately 7.1 million.

The underwriters have the option to buy up to 1.5 million more shares from certain selling stockholders.

Francesca's will not receive any proceeds from shares sold by the selling stockholders. The company said in a recent regulatory filing that it anticipated net proceeds of about $44.1 million, after taking out expenses and the underwriter's discount and commissions. That anticipated amount was based on the stock being priced at $15 per share, the midpoint of its price range.

Francesca's plans to use its proceeds, coupled with borrowings from a revolving credit agreement, to pay off an existing credit line.

The shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the "FRAN" ticker symbol.

Francesca's boutiques are targeted to women between 18 and 35 and sell clothing, jewelry, accessories and other items. The company had net income of $16.9 million on revenue of $135.1 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 29.