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Vizio Goes Public; Stock Falls

Vizio went public Thursday when it priced its 12.25-million-share initial public offering at $21, valuing the company at close to $4 billion. Shares slumped nearly 17% to $17.50 when trading began around 1 p.m. EDT on the New York Stock…

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Exchange as VZIO. It has been less than four weeks since the March 1 filing of Vizio’s S-1 registration statement. The SEC declared the registration and IPO effective Wednesday. Chairman-CEO William Wang will control a majority of the shares and about 92% of voting power. Contract manufacturers AmTran and Foxconn and LCD panel maker Innolux are among top outside shareholders. “Consumers are more and more moving to the connected TV space," Vizio Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend told Yahoo Finance Thursday. "They expect to have the apps that they want, their subscription services, as well as free streaming content available all in one place, and we’re delivering against that.” The IPO will bring Vizio “into the next chapter of its evolution,” he said. The company didn't respond to our questions. Shares closed down 9.1% at $19.10.