Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM 2.07%) is leveraging its financial expertise to sell a block of its class A common shares to the market. The investment management firm is floating 4.8 million shares in an underwritten public issue priced at $56.00 per share. Additionally, the company's underwriters have been granted a purchase option for up to an additional 720,000 shares.
Artisan Partners said it plans to use the proceeds of the issue to purchase shares of its convertible preferred stock, and preferred units of subsidiary Artisan Partners Holdings, from funds controlled by private equity concern Hellman & Friedman.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America's Merrill Lynch are among the underwriters of the issue, which is expected to close next Wednesday.
At the moment, Artisan Partners has 16.6 million shares outstanding, and its stock most recently closed at $59.87 per share.
