NightHawk Radiology goes public

NightHawk Radiology Holdings announced Oct. 5 that it will hold an initial public offering with the intention of raising more than $86 million, according to a press release from the company's corporate headquarters.

The offsite/off-hours radiology interpretation service based in Coeur d'Alene, ID, will trade its common stock on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "NHWK."

NightHawk plans to use IPO proceedings to expand its business and pay down corporate debt. The company reported losses of nearly $8 million for the second quarter of 2005. The statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not specify the number of shares nor estimated price, however.

Morgan Stanley, Banc of America Securities, Piper Jaffray, SG Cowen & Co., and Montgomery & Co. will underwrite the IPO.

NightHawk's U.S.-trained and board-certified radiologists provide diagnostic imaging interpretations to 347 customers in 693 hospitals in the U.S. from reading facilities in Sydney, Australia, and Zurich, Switzerland.

The company's move will help improve patient care by having nighttime readings performed by radiologists who are awake in Sydney or Zurich, said Dr. William G. Bradley, professor and chair of radiology at the University of California, San Diego. Bradley is a NightHawk's stockholder and board member.

For more information from the Diagnostic Imaging archives:

Teleradiologists must tread carefully in legal mine field

Legislation tackles offshore teleradiology

New rules for offshore reads may hit rads at home

Necessity provided breeding ground for international teleradiology

Globalization comes to radiology