3i-backed Phibro Animal Health IPO priced at $15/shr -underwriter

April 10 (Reuters) - Phibro Animal Health Corp's initial public offering was priced at $15 per share, an underwriter said, below its expected price range of $16-$18 per share.

The IPO raised about $176.5 million with the offering of 11.765 million shares of Class A common stock.

Backed by UK private equity firm 3i Group Plc, Teaneck, New Jersey-based Phibro is selling 7.352 million shares in the offering. The rest are being offered by selling stockholder Mayflower, which is managed by 3i.

The shares are expected to start trading on Friday on the Nasdaq under the symbol "PAHC."

BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley (Berlin: DWD.BE - news) and Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) are the lead underwriters for the offering.

Phibro is a maker and marketer of animal health and nutrition products that are sold under the brands such as Stafac, Nicarb, and OmniGen-AF.

Phibro's net income fell to $8.1 million from $14.7 million for the six months ended Dec. 31. Revenue rose about 3 percent to $334.97 million.

Last year, Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE - news) 's animal health subsidiary Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS - news) , which sells drug products and other services for livestock and pets, raised $2.2 billion in its IPO. Zoetis stock has climbed about 12 percent since then. (Reporting by Avik Das and Arnab Sen in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)