Smart Technologies Shares Fall in Debut

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of digital whiteboard maker Smart Technologies Inc (SMT.O) (SMA.TO), the biggest U.S. IPO of the year, opened 2.9 percent above their offering price, but fell soon afterward.

The stock opened on Nasdaq on Thursday at $17.50 and rose as high as $27. Later, however, it fell to $16.75, below the initial public offering price.

The shares opened at C$18.25 on the Toronto Stock Exchange but fell to C$17.45 in morning trading.

Calgary, Alberta-based Smart Technologies sold 38.83 million shares for $17 each late on Wednesday, raising about $660.11 million. It had planned to sell 35.3 million shares for $16 to $18 each.

Smart Technologies’ whiteboards can access the Internet as well as save and share work.

The company said in a regulatory filing that 85 percent of its revenue came from the education sector. However, it sees growth opportunities among business and government clients, which accounted for the remaining 15 percent of fiscal 2010 revenue.

Revenue rose 38 percent to $648 million in the year ended March 31. The company swung from a $106.6 million loss to a $142 million profit.

Smart Technologies, whose shareholders include funds associated with Apax Partners, chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) and IFF Holdings Inc, said it would use proceeds from the offering to repay loans, for working capital and for general purposes. 

Apax and Intel were each planning to sell a portion of their shares in the IPO, but husband and wife co-founders David Martin and Nancy Knowlton were not planning to sell any stock, according the most recent prospectus. 

Underwriters were led by Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank Securities (DBKGn.DE), RBC Capital Markets (RY.TO) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX).

The shares are trading on Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols “SMT” and “SMA.” (Reporting by Clare Baldwin, additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)