Cancer firm postpones IPO

FORT MYERS — Cancer-treatment firm 21st Century Oncology Holdings says it has postponed plans to sell $348 million worth of shares to the public, citing an unfavorable stock market.

The company didn't say when it might reconsider the sale. “The company's registration statement on Form S-1, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has not been withdrawn and the company will continue to evaluate the timing for the offerings as market conditions develop,” the firm says in a statement.

The company, which operates 185 cancer-treatment centers in the U.S. and Latin America, didn't elaborate on the unfavorable market conditions. However, recent volatility in the stock market and lower investor confidence have affected the shares of publicly traded companies.

Formerly known as Radiation Therapy Services, 21st Century Oncology first went public in 2004. In 2008,Vestar Capital Partners acquired the company in a $1.1 billion leveraged buyout and took it private.

In its regulatory filing earlier this month, the Fort Myers-based company planned to sell 13.3 million shares of common stock between $14 and $16 a share under the symbol ICC on the New York Stock Exchange. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are the lead underwriters and would have an option to purchase another 2 million shares.

In addition, 21st Century Oncology planned to sell 225,000 shares of preferred stock for $50 a share. Those shares would trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ICC PR. The company planned to use the proceeds of the IPO to repay debt and for general corporate purposes.

You can read a recent story here in the Business Observer about 21st Century Oncology's strategy.