Lucent Ipo Yields Record $3 Billion

Lucent Technologies Inc. sold 112 million shares at $27 each, netting the AT&T Corp. spinoff $3.025 billion in the largest initial public offering in U.S. history.

The stock sale creates one of the world’s largest independent telecommunications equipment makers. It is a key step in AT&T’s plan to divide itself into three parts in the recently deregulated and increasingly competitive telecommunications industry.

The shares were sold to Wall Street firms Wednesday and will begin to trade on the New York Stock Exchange today. Strong investor demand is expected to drive the shares higher initially, analysts and money managers say.

“This is the largest IPO in U.S. history, in an industry that demands consideration, so it’s an offering you have to think about buying,” said Chet Needelman, president of Palley-Needelman Asset Management with $3.6 billion in assets, who said he is considering buying shares.

While Lucent shares will be in strong demand, the stock’s initial performance shouldn’t match that of earlier high-flying IPOs such as Netscape Communications Corp., which more than doubled in price on its first trading day, analysts say.

“When you have something of this size, you can’t really compare it to things like Netscape,” Needelman said.