MILWAUKEE, WI — A.O. Smith Corporation announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed underwritten public offering of 3.5 million shares of its common stock. All of the shares are to be offered by A.O. Smith.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the stock to repay a portion of its debt under its multi-year credit facility. The company anticipates that the proposed stock offering will proceed in the second quarter.

A.O. Smith, headquartered in Milwaukee, is a manufacturer of fractional horsepower, hermetic, and integral horsepower electric motors, residential water heaters, commercial water heating equipment, and hydronic boilers.