Bucyrus, which announced late last week the DBT deal had closed and that it had negotiated $1.225 billion of new credit facilities with lenders Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan, said it was offering 4.6 million of its common shares at a nominal price of $65.

The issue underwriters – the same two banks doing the lending – can take up to an additional 692,100 shares under a 30-day option, which could provide Bucyrus with total net proceeds of $329.5 million from the issue.

Bucyrus, one of the world's two major manufacturers and suppliers of large surface mining draglines, electric rope shovels and rotary blast-hole drills, acquired DBT for $710 million cash and shares worth $21 million.

It said last week it had signed up for a new $825 million term loan facility, and $400 million revolving credit facility. Proceeds of the share issue would be used to repay some of the former.

Bucyrus posted unaudited sales for the three months to March 31, 2007, of $190.4 million, up 14.9% on the same period last year.

Net earnings for the latest quarter were $17.9 million compared with $14.5 million for the March quarter in 2006.

The company's total order backlog at the end of March this year was $937.6 million, 4.8% higher than at the end of 2006.

These figures do not include pro forma DBT contributions.

For the 2007 year, Bucyrus is forecasting pro forma combined sales of $1.9-2 billion, and combined earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $255-275 million.