FERGUS FALLS, Minn., Sept. 24, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Otter Tail Corporation (Nasdaq:OTTR) announced the closing of its offering of 4,500,000 newly issued shares of its common stock at a price per share of $30.00. The offering carried a gross spread of $1.0875 per share. The corporation also announced the issuance of an additional 675,000 shares of its common stock at the same price per share pursuant to the exercise in full by the underwriters of the offering of their overallotment option on September 22, 2008. The offering (including the sale of shares issued pursuant to the underwriters' exercise of their overallotment option) will yield net proceeds, after total estimated offering expenses to the corporation, of $149,222,188 on closing today.
Merrill Lynch & Co. acted as sole book-running manager. Robert W. Baird & Co. and J.P. Morgan acted as joint lead managers. Banc of America Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities and KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as co-managers.
The corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to finance Otter Tail Power Company's construction of the Ashtabula Wind Center in Barnes County, North Dakota; the expansion of DMI Industries' wind tower manufacturing facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and West Fargo, North Dakota; and to fund working capital needs of the corporation's other businesses.
About the Corporation
Otter Tail Corporation has interests in diversified operations that include an electric utility, manufacturing, health services, food ingredient processing and infrastructure businesses which include plastics, construction and transportation. Otter Tail Corporation stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol OTTR. The latest investor and corporate information is available at www.ottertail.com. Corporate offices are located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota.
The Otter Tail Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4958
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical information, all other information provided in this release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, or implied. The most significant of these risks and uncertainties are discussed or identified in Otter Tail Corporation's public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Otter Tail Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.