Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) today announced the pricing of its previously announced follow-on public offering of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $19.25 per share. The Company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 750,000 shares at the public offering price to cover any over-allotments. The offering is scheduled to close on January 27, 2010.
Centene intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay the outstanding indebtedness under its $300,000,000 revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions, capital expenditures and additions to working capital.
The shares are being offered through underwriters led by BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman, Sachs & Co., J. P. Morgan Securities Inc., and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC. Barclays Capital Inc., Allen & Company LLC, and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated are the co-managers of the offering. The offering is being conducted pursuant to an effective registration statement filed on January 19, 2010 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.