There seems to be strong investor demand on the New York Stock Exchange for North Carolina-based Quintiles.
Trading began today for the drug-testing company at $40 a share, and by mid-day – shares were up to almost $44. The price closed at $42.
Phil Bridges, a spokesman for Quintiles, says this is an iconic moment in the company's history.“It’s really more of a re-capitalization effort," he says. "So that’s how we are presenting it. And we’ll still be working toward providing solutions to our customers and helping them bring life-saving medicines to market everyday.”
Quintiles announced late yesterday that it would sell about 23.7 million shares of its common stock. This initial public offering could raise close to one billion dollars.
Quintiles has 27,000 employees worldwide; 2,000 of them are in the Triangle.