DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) plans to offer $900 million in
common stock, saying it will use the proceeds for general corporate
purposes, including possible future acquisitions.
Shares fell 5.6% to $26.80 in after-hours trading, before being
made unavailable for trading.
The provider of financial planning services, which has a market
capitalization of about $6.25 billion, said the funds could be used
to support growth initiatives and take advantage of any acquisition
opportunities as they come available.
Last month, the company said it was looking at
merger-and-acquisition opportunities, which it said are coming
about more and more in the market. Two areas the brokerage said it
might look to augment are its retail-distribution and
asset-management capabilities. Last November, Ameriprise acquired
H&R Block Financial Advisors.
Companies across a host of industries are looking to take
advantage of increased investor interest in stock offerings amid
the three-month stock rally.
The deal's underwriters have the option to buy an additional 15%
in stock to cover overallotments. The company had 223.5 million
shares outstanding as of March 31.
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. will
serve as joint book-running managers for the offering.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285;
john.kell@dowjones.com
