W&T Offshore, Inc. said that it has priced its previously announced public offering of its common stock at $32.50 a share. A total of 8.5 million shares are being sold by the company.

W&T has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1.275 million shares of common stock. The company plans to use substantially all of the net proceeds from this offering, together with cash on hand and borrowings under its new bank credit facility, to fund the cash consideration payable pursuant to its pending Kerr-McGee Transaction.

There is no assurance that the Kerr-McGee Transaction will be completed, and the offering of common stock is not conditioned on the closing of the Kerr-McGee Transaction. W&T may also use a small portion of this offering to fund capital expenditures related to its drilling services. Any net proceeds from this offering that the company does not use for the purposes described above will be used for general corporate purposes.

Lehman Brothers, Jefferies & Co. and Morgan Stanley are serving as joint book-running managers for the offering.

Founded in 1983, W&T Offshore is an independent oil and natural gas company focused primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, including exploration in the deepwater, where it has developed significant technical expertise. W&T has grown through acquisition, exploitation and exploration and now holds working interests in over 100 fields in federal and state waters and a majority of its daily production is derived from wells it operates.