Exult Files Plan for New Stock Offering

Exult Inc. and shareholders, including majority owner General Atlantic Partners LLC, filed to sell 10 million shares of the Irvine human resources services provider--a stake worth $170.5 million based on Friday’s closing price.

Exult plans to sell 6.7 million shares, worth $114 million after the stock lost 68 cents Friday on Nasdaq to close at $17.05 a share. Despite the drop, the stock has gained 29% this year.

The company will use the proceeds for general purposes and possible acquisitions, according to a document it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its total shares outstanding would rise 7% to 100.4 million shares.

The investors selling the other 3.3 million shares, worth $56.8 million, include affiliates of General Atlantic, a venture capital firm that now owns 56% of Exult, according to the filing.

Exult formed a joint venture June 12 with Automated Data Processing Inc., the nation’s biggest payroll processor, which agreed to invest as much as $50 million in Exult. Bloomberg News