Ingram schtum over post-IPO plans

Ingram Micro's long-awaited initial public share offering finally went ahead last Friday and the company raised approximately $405 million by the close of share trading in its first day.

Ingram is remaining tight-lipped about what it plans to spend the cash injection on, as it is bound by US legislation which prevents such discussions until 25 days after the flotation. But a representative of Ingram Micro UK said: 'We are legally bound to say nothing about the future, but the flotation went ahead very successfully on Friday.'

Shares opened at about $19 in the morning and rose to $23.50, before closing at $20.50 at the end of business on Friday. A New York-based industry watcher said the Ingram stock 'is trading at just about its fair value considering the company's size and the following it has in the investor market'.

The distributor's operating margin for the first half of 1996 stood at about 6.8 per cent, down from 8.1 per cent for the same period in 1993.