Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., which received a $3.4 billion government bailout, said today it had raised $900 million in an equity offering, more than it expected, sending its shares sharply higher.
“We saw strong demand from a broad range of investors, enabling us to increase the offering by $150 million,” Chief Executive Ramani Ayer said in a statement.
The U.S. life and property insurer said it sold 56.1 million shares at $16.03 each. It intends to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including the possible repurchase of outstanding debt.
Its shares rose nearly 9 percent to $17.97 in late afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Hartford as been hurt in past quarters by large losses on retirement products linked to stock market performance.
