The Fresh Market prices 13.2mm shares at $22, above the range

In a sign of strong demand, specialty food retailer The Fresh Market priced its offering of 13.2 million shares at $22, a 16% premium to the mid-point of its proposed $18-$20 range. Although none of the $290 million in proceeds will go to the company as all shares were sold by existing shareholders, the firm is expected to generate sufficient cash flow to fund future store openings while repaying existing debt. At the IPO price, the company's market valuation exceeds $1 billion. BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs lead managed the IPO, and the stock is expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TFM on Friday.