Roadrunner Transportation Systems announced the closing of a $450 million rights offering in which the company sold and issued an aggregate of 900,000,000 new shares of common stock.

The stocks were sold at a subscription price of 50 cents per share. The rights offering will allow Roadrunner to pay down debts and expenses and refocus the company. Roadrunner has retained in excess of $30 million of net cash proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes.

The purpose of the rights offering was to improve and simplify the company’s capital structure in a manner that gives the company’s existing stockholders the opportunity to participate on a pro rata basis.

“We believe the simplification and improvement of our capital structure accomplished through the rights offering will support our long-term business plans and increase the speed and likelihood of a full operational recovery for Roadrunner,” said Curt Stoelting, CEO of Roadrunner.

A majority of the stocks sold through the rights offering were purchased by stockholders who are affiliated with Elliott Management Corporation. Elliott purchased a total of 843,632,693 shares of the Roadrunner's common stock between its basic subscription rights and backstop commitment, and now beneficially owns approximately 90.4% of the company’s common stock.

Roadrunner ran into financial troubles last year, when its financial reporting practices came under scrutiny because the company failed to fully report losses. An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department resulted in two former Roadrunner executives being indicted for their role in an alleged accounting fraud scheme.