Icon Resources co-founder, Dr Ronan Lambe, and chairman, Dr John Climax will sell 1.5 million ICON shares between them, the clinical trials group said yesterday.
In addition to the sale by Dr Lambe of one million American Depository Shares and the sale of 500,000 shares by Dr Climax, the group also plans to issue 1.5 million new shares.
The offering, which will be made in the US and Europe, is underwritten by Davy Stockbrokers, Goldman Sachs, Will Blair and Bear Stearns.
In an notice released after the close of business in the US on Friday, the group said the underwriters had been granted an option to purchase up to 450,000 Amercican Depository Shares from Mr Lambe and Dr Climax in addition to the three million put on the market.
ICON shares fell 2.72 per cent to $28 (€25.96) on the Nasdaq and closed unchanged in Dublin at €27.95 on Friday.
It said an application would be made for the new shares to be listed on the Irish exchange. It added that a registration document relating to the ordinary shares underlying the American Depository Shares had been filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission but he not yet become effective.
Brokers upgraded the group last month after another quarter of record results, marking the sixth successive quarter of revenue growth to exceed 30 per cent.
Operating profit grew by 43 per cent in its second quarter to $6.3 million (€5.84 million), with earnings per share (EPS) ahead 29 per cent at 36 US cents, two cents ahead of forecasts. In the first half, profits have climbed 23.6 per cent to $8.4 million.
