(RTTNews) - Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE) slipped in pre-market trading after the company priced a public offering of 5 million common shares of stock at $23.

The stock was down $2.87 just after 8:45 am ET, dipping to $23.00. If pre-market losses hold, the stock will open at its lowest level since mid-October.

Hawaiian Electric Industries announced that it priced a public offering of 5 million common shares at $23 per share for gross proceeds of $115 million. In addition, the company granted the underwriters an over-allotment option to buy up to an additional 750,000 shares of common stock.

The company said it intends to use the offering net proceeds to repay its outstanding short-term indebtedness consisting of borrowings under its line of credit facility and commercial paper borrowings and to make loans to its subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. or HECO, principally to permit HECO to repay a portion of its outstanding commercial paper borrowings.

The company added that proceeds of HECO's commercial paper borrowings were partly used to finance subsidiary's ongoing capital expenditure programs.

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