Validus IPO prices below estimated price range

Reinsurance company Validus Holdings Ltd. (VR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said its initial public offering priced at $22.00 a share, falling short of the pre-established price range for the stock sale.
Validus also lowered the number of shares it plans to sell to 15.2 million from 15.7 million. The offering's underwriters have the option of acquiring an additional 2.3 million shares.
That slashes the potential funds to be raised from the offering to $385 million from a potential $468 million if it had sold at the top of the forecast range of $24 to $26 each.
The offering proceeds will be partly used to repay interim financing to acquire Talbot Holdings Ltd., the reinsurer said in a statement.
Validus, to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "VR" (VR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), is the latest in a series of Bermuda-based reinsurers to tap the IPO market and will have a market capitalization of about $1.6 billion.
That's down from the market value of $1.8 billion it would have had if the IPO had priced at the mid-point of the forecast range. (Reporting by Sharangdhar Limaye in Bangalore and Christian Plumb in New York)