Austin-based Chuy's files for secondary stock offering
Jan 22, 2013 (Menafn - Austin American-Statesman - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --With its stock soaring, Austin-based Chuy's Holdings has filed a secondary offering to sell 4.5 million shares on the behalf of certain shareholders.
The Tex-Mex restaurant chain also said that underwriters have the option to purchase as much as an additional 675,000 shares.
Chuy's raised 75.8 million in an initial public offering in July by selling 5.8 million shares at 13 each to institutional investors.
Since then, the stock has closed as high as 28.44. In Nasdaq trading on Tuesday, shares were unchanged, closing at 24.36.
The secondary stock offering does not affect the company's capitalization because it is strictly existing shareholders selling their stock.
"It's all by insiders cashing out, so as far as the company is concerned, there's no change whatsoever," said John Fitzgibbon of IPO Scoop.com, which tracks initial public offering. "It is a sign that the stock is successful, because you don't see the insiders bailing out if a stock tanks."
Chuy's shares got a boost on Jan. 10 when the company raised its full-year guidance for fiscal 2012, citing strong same-store sales as well as successful new restaurant openings.
Management said it expected fourth-quarter revenue to jump 40 percent from the same quarter a year ago to about 46.7 million.
Chuy's CEO Steve Hislop said in a statement at the time that "with a strong pipeline of new units planned for 2013, we are confident that we are in great shape to build upon our 2012 results as we enter the new year."
Chuy's was founded in 1982 by Mike Young and John Zapp as a single restaurant on Barton Springs Road in Austin. Today it operates 40 restaurants in eight states.
Management said that in fiscal 2013 it plans to open eight to nine new restaurants and expects restaurant sales at stores open for at least a year to grow between 1 percent and 1.5 percent.
Jeffries and Baird are the joint book-running managers for the secondary offering. KeyBanc Capital Markets, Raymond James and Stephens Inc. are co-managers of the offering.
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