Schering-Plough prices common and convertible preferred stock offering

Schering-Plough has priced its registered public offering of 50,000,000 shares of common stock in the firm, with the company putting the value of these shares at $27.50 (13.57 pounds) each.

Underwriters will have an option to buy a further 7,500,000 common shares in the firm.

Additionally, the company has also priced its registered public offering of 10,000,000 shares of its six per cent mandatory convertible preferred stock at $250 each, with an aggregate liquidation value of $2.5 billion.

Underwriters have an option to purchase a further 1,500,000 of this mandatory convertible preferred stock with a liquidation value of a total $375 million.

Schering-Plough reports that: “These offerings will generate aggregate net proceeds of approximately $3.8 billion, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares.

“The offerings are expected to close on August 15th 2007.”

Schering-Plough adds that the first dividend on this stock will be paid in November 2007, with the six per cent mandatory convertible preferred stock automatically converting into between 74,206,000 and 90,909,000 common shares in August 2010.

In February 2007, Schering-Plough announced a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per common share in the firm, an increase of 18.2 per cent over its previous quarterly dividend.