VAR500 Company EPAM Systems: IPO Update

The opening bell rung for the first time for VAR500 IT solution provider EPAM Systems.

In its first morning of trading, the stock opened at $13.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, up from its IPO price of $12 per share. EPAM Systems sold 6 million shares --1.4 million less than planned -- at a price below its original target of $16 to $18. It will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "EPAM."

According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, EPAM Systems plans to use the proceeds of the offering for "general corporate purposes, such as for working capital, for acquiring facilities, and for potential strategic acquisitions of, or investments in, other businesses or technologies that we believe will complement our current business and expansion strategies."

The $239.4 million VAR500 IT solution provider focuses on software product development services, software engineering and vertically oriented custom development solutions. In addition to client management locations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan, EPAM Systems delivers services and software solutions from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary and Poland.

EPAM Systems has a geographically diverse client base with 52.8 percent of 2010 revenue from clients located in North America, 26.4 percent from clients in Europe and 19.1 percent from clients in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the former Soviet Union.

Citigroup, The Coca-Cola Company, Expedia, Google, Oracle and SAP are among EPAM Systems’ clients.