Pittsburgh Business Times reported that Latrobe Specialty Steel Co is looking to once again go public, this time under the name Latrobe Specialty Metals Inc in an offering for a maximum of USD 175 million.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is planning to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LAT. Shares have not yet been priced, and a date of the offering hasn’t been set.

According to the filing, the company will use the proceeds to pay off debt, pay dividends, end certain oversight agreements and for general corporate purposes.

Ms Lisa Pierce company spokeswoman said “It’s a move to improve the structure of the balance sheet. The move is not related to the company’s plan to expand its titanium wire business.”

This isn’t the first public offering for the company, which was founded in 1913. In 1965, it listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Latrobe Steel. Then in 1975 the company merged with the Timken Co as a way to fight off a hostile takeover led by Eastmet Corp. In 2006, Timken sold Latrobe Steel to a group of investors led by Watermill Group, Hicks Holdings and Sankaty Advisors for roughly USD 215 million.

The company makes specialty metal and high performance alloys such as nickel alloys, titanium nickel alloys and carbon based products for the aerospace, defense, medical and energy industries.

(Sourced from Pittsburgh Business Times)