Denver-based Intrepid Potash Inc., which produces the crop nutrient at five sites in the U.S., rose as much as 70 percent in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Intrepid climbed $18.40, or 57.5 percent, to $50.40 in composite trading. The shares earlier advanced as high as $54.52. On Monday, Intrepid priced 30 million shares at $32 each, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The offering comes amid soaring potash prices driven by increased demand from farmers in Asia and South America. Global prices for the crop nutrient have more than tripled in the past year, helping shares of rival Mosaic Co. gain fourfold and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. triple in price.
Intrepid plans to use proceeds from the sale to repay debt and expand production at facilities in Utah and New Mexico that have a combined capacity of 1.1 million tons a year, the company said in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
