Koninklijke Philips Electronics sold 100 million ADS units in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSMC after New York's close on Monday, raising $1.077 billion to pay down debt. With TSMC's two house banks, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, as lead managers, the transaction was priced flat to the group's $10.77 ADR close and at a 7.6% premium to stock's underlying close of NT$68.
The transaction was completed against a backdrop of difficult global equity markets, which helped pushed the ADR down 5.7% over New York's trading day ahead of pricing. This makes TSMC's achievement all the more impressive given that it has never before been able to price a follow-on offering...