New Fortress Energy Falls in Post-Shutdown IPO

(Bloomberg) -- New Fortress Energy LLC fell 6.6 percent in its trading debut, as the markets gave a cold shoulder to the first operating company to go public after the U.S. government reopened.

The energy infrastructure company raised $280 million on Wednesday, selling 20 million shares for $14 each -- below the $15 price it had set for them. The shares fell as much as 7.9 percent Thursday before closing at $13.07. The New York-based company had initially filed to sell 22.2 million Class A shares at a price range of $17 to $19 each.

Setting a fixed price for the shares allowed New Fortress to go ahead with the listing despite the 35-day government shutdown that put on hold reviews by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering was the first in the shutdown’s aftermath by a company with ongoing business operations. A Bogota-based blank check company, Andina Acquisition Corp. III, raised $100 million Monday after selling its shares at a previously set price.

New Fortress said in a statement that the offering was led by Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG. The shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol NFE.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Hytha in San Francisco at mhytha@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Matthew Monks

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