CVR Refining units up 2 pct in trading debut

[January 18, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- CVR Refining LP's units rose about 2 percent in their first hours of trading Thursday.

The company, which was spun off from CVR Energy Inc., sold 24 million units for $25 each, the midpoint of an expected range of $24 to $26, raising gross proceeds of $600 million.

It also granted the offering's underwriters an option to buy up to 3.6 million additional units.

In midday trading, the shares rose 51 cents to $25.51 after peaking at $25.87, while the broader markets also rose.

The Sugar Land, Texas-based limited partnership owns and operates petroleum refining and auxiliary businesses. The company has said it plans to use proceeds from the initial public offering to pay down debt, for maintenance and environmental payments and for expenses of its Wynnewood refinery in the fourth quarter.

After the offering closes, CVR Energy will own nearly 84 percent of CVR Refining's common units, or about 81 percent if the underwriters fully exercise their option.

In addition, billionaire investor Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises, which controls CVR Energy, plans to buy 4 million units for stake of about 2.7 percent.

The units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CVRR."

[Associated Press]

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