Day Runner’s Offering Raises $6.5 Million

FULLERTON — Day Runner Inc. hit the ground running Wednesday, raising $6.5 million in its initial public offering and enriching more than a few investors as the stock quickly climbed from the offering price of $15 to a closing price of $17.75 on the over-the-counter market.

The leading maker of paper-based personal organizers, Fullerton-based Day Runner has a Cinderella history. It was started in a West Hollywood home 10 years ago by Boyd and Felice Willat. By the mid-1980s, the Day Runner loose-leaf agenda had become de rigueur for busy young professionals.

In 1986, with sales for the year at $10 million, the Willats turned the firm over to a new management team but remained major shareholders. Annual sales soared from $11.1 million in 1987 to $53.2 million last year. Day Runner organizers are sold in 6,000 U.S. stores.

Day Runner and several shareholders offered 1,575,000 shares of stock to the public. Of the total, 1 million shares were sold by the company to pay off bank debt and to finance expansion. The remaining shares were sold by major stockholders, including the Willats.