Tekelec, Telecom Supplier, to Go Public

Tekelec, a Calabasas company that makes equipment used to test telecommunications gear, plans to sell its stock to the public for the first time.

In a preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tekelec disclosed that it wants to make a public offering of 900,000 shares of stock.

Another 100,000 shares will be offered by three of Tekelec’s officers and one of its board members. Of those shares, 45,500 are to be offered by Tekelec President Philip Black and another 42,850 shares are to be offered by Los Angeles accountant Jon F. Rager, a Tekelec director.

Tekelec estimates in its prospectus that the offering price of its stock will be from $11 to $13 per share, meaning the company could raise from $9.9 million to $11.7 million before underwriting commissions are taken into account.

The company said it will use $1.5 million to buy equipment for manufacturing and other purposes and to improve its manufacturing and office facilities. Another $412,000 will be used to pay off bank debt, and the rest is for unspecified “general” purposes.

Users Listed

Tekelec’s products are used by telecommunications and computer equipment makers and such telephone companies as AT&T;, GTE, IBM and MCI.

Last year, Tekelec’s sales rose 86% to $9.7 million and its net income climbed 187% to $1.2 million. The company had 108 employees as of March 31, according to the prospectus.

Tekelec’s stock is expected to be traded in the over-the-counter market. It will carry the ticker symbol “TKLC” on the National Assn. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system, a computerized stock quotation service. The underwriter for the stock offering is E. F. Hutton, the New York-based brokerage firm.