Delphi stock drops slightly after IPO raises $530M

TROY (AP) -- Shares of auto parts maker Delphi dropped in their first day of trading after selling at $22 per share in an initial public stock offering last Thursday. The former General Motors Co. division's stock fell 63 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $21.37 in the late afternoon. Delphi Automotive PLC, based in Troy, priced its shares in the IPO at the low end of the expected range of $22 to $24. The IPO raised $530 million, but the company won't get any of the proceeds because stockholders sold all 24.1 million shares in the offering. Delphi's market capitalization is about $7 billion based on the afternoon price. GM's stock performance after its IPO may have weighed on Delphi's offering. GM's shares are down about 34 percent from the IPO price of $33 on Nov. 18, 2010. Delphi's stock is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "DLPH." Underwriters may buy 3.6 million more shares from stockholders at the IPO price if there's heavy demand from investors. Delphi, which makes transmission controls, heating and air conditioning systems, safety components and electronics, was spun off from GM in 1999. High labor costs and GM production cuts sent the company into bankruptcy protection in 2005, but it emerged four years later after being bought by a group of investors. Most of the Delphi shares belonged to well-known hedge fund manager John Paulson's Paulson & Co., which owned a 22 percent stake in the company. By selling about 20.6 million shares, Paulson & Co. will reduce its stake to about 15.8 percent. The rest of the shares in the offering were held by other investment firms. The new version of Delphi is smaller and has billions less in debt. It is increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly in China, the world's largest auto market. Detroit-based GM remains a major customer and accounted for 25 percent of Delphi's revenue last year. In restructuring, Delphi cut thousands of jobs, slashed costs and sold off plants and businesses. The company no longer employs members of the United Auto Workers union. About 91 percent of its hourly workers are in low-cost countries. Delphi also terminated its pension plans, transferring pension obligations for 70,000 Delphi workers and retirees to the federal government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The PBGC took responsibility for $6.1 billion in pension payments. The company no longer offers health insurance for retirees or employer-paid life insurance. Delphi had been cleaning up its balance sheet ahead of the IPO. It bought back stakes owned by GM and the PBGC in March for $4.4 billion. For the first nine months of this year, Delphi posted a profit of $911 million, up 49 percent from $612 million in the same period last year. Sales rose 19 percent to $12.1 billion from $10.2 billion. Published: Mon, Nov 21, 2011