Power-One Plans Initial Public Offering of Stock

Power-One, a Camarillo-based producer of power supplies for electronic equipment manufacturers, plans to sell 5 million common shares in an initial public offering, raising as much as $54.8 million after deducting the underwriter’s fee.

Power-One has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first-time stock sale, saying it plans to sell the shares at $11 to $13 each.

The company will use the proceeds to repay debt, pay several of its executives and fund the redemption of preferred stock after the offering, the SEC filing said. The proceeds also will go to general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures, working capital and possible future acquisitions.

Chief Financial Officer Ed Schnopp said the offering could come as soon as late September or early October.

Switching-power supplies, which regulate and distribute electricity within electronic equipment, accounted for 75% of Power-One’s 1996 sales. The company’s customers include Teradyne, Cisco Systems, Germany’s Siemens AG, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard and Unisys.

For the six months that ended June 30, Power-One reported net income of $2.6 million or 22 cents a share, up from $2 million last year. Revenue for the recent six-month period was $40.2 million, compared with $40.7 million a year earlier.

Steven Goldman is Power-One’s president, chief executive officer and chairman. Jon Jacoby and Douglas Martin, who serve as directors, also are executives with Stephens Group Inc., a Little Rock, Ark., investment firm.

Stephens and affiliates own the largest stake in Power-One, at 32.7%. The group will retain a 22.7% stake after the offering.

New investors will own 30.4% of the company’s outstanding shares, while current shareholders will retain a 69.6% stake.

Shares will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol PWER, according to the registration statement filing.