NEW YORK -- When the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange chimed Tuesday morning, Goldman Sachs & Co. entered the public domain, becoming the last major private Wall Street investment firm to do so.
Goldman Sachs raised $3.66 billion Monday in the second-largest initial public stock sale in U.S. history, ranking only behind Conoco's $4.5 billion initial public offering late last year.Goldman Sachs sold 69 million shares for $53 each. The sale represents a 12.5 percent stake in the company, and values the entire firm at $29 billion.
The stock was priced near the top end of the expected range of $45 to $55 a share.
"Everyone walks out happy," said Randall Roth, an analyst at Renaissance Capital Corp., which runs the IPO Plus Aftermarket Fund. "Portfolio managers know they didn't buy it at an outrageous price, and Goldman because they know they got a good price."
Requests for shares from investors totaled more than 10 times the amount Goldman had on the table.
"Everyone knew it was going to be big," Roth said. "This is a stock you're going to sock away in your portfolio rather than day trade."
Goldman first tried to go public last fall after years of resistance among its partners. But the effort was shelved as financial markets were roiled by economic turmoil overseas.
Investors appeared to have no such concerns Monday as the Dow Jones industrial average soared 225.65 points to close at 11,014.69, its first finish above the 11,000 benchmark.
Goldman is among Wall Street's leaders in launching corporate sales of stocks and bonds and assisting companies in mergers and acquisitions. While it is not known as a brokerage serving average investors, the firm has invested in developing online trading.
Goldman, which will trade under the symbol GS, sold shares to raise the cash it needs to expand operations around the world and remain competitive. Goldman also plans to borrow $16 billion through the sale of notes, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But with the mantle of a public company, goes a level of scrutiny and responsibility to shareholders. Goldman Sachs, long a secretive and elite partnership, will now face public disclosure of its dealings, executive pay and policies.