NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Bermuda-based MF Global Ltd. raised $2.92 billion in its US initial public offering on Wednesday — around $1bn less than it sought.The company, a brokerage unit for hedge fund manager Man Financial Group, handles trades in futures, options and other derivatives on and off exchanges.

MF Global sold 97.4 million shares at $30 apiece, according to Bloomberg data. The firm, a brokerage unit of hedge fund manager Man Financial Group, had set a price range of $36 to $39 a share in a July 6 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

And shares of MF Global had fallen to $27.30 on the company's first day of trading on the NYSE by 2.45 p.m. New York time yesterday.

The failure of two Bear Stearns hedge funds, announced this week, has raised uncertainty about the future of the industry.

Bear Stearns yesterday told investors in the two hedge funds that they'll get little if any money back after a plunge in the value of securities used to bet on subprime mortgages. The losses rattled financial markets and sent shares of 11 of the 12 stocks in the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index down. Merrill Lynch & Co., the world's largest brokerage firm, dropped 3.3 percent and Morgan Stanley fell 2.8 percent.

Man Group, based in London, is selling 80 percent of MF Global to concentrate on its hedge fund business, which oversees more than $65 billion. The brokerage is the fourth-largest operator in the $4.5 trillion-a-day global futures market. Man Group built up the unit by acquiring assets from Refco Inc. when the New York-based futures broker went bankrupt in 2005.

The IPO values MF Global at $3.64 billion, based on 121.3 million shares outstanding. MF Global also plans to sell $1.2 billion of debt. Proceeds from the IPO will go to Man Group, which cut its stake to 20 percent.

"It was what I call the poster child for a bailout," said Francis Gaskins, president of IPODesktop.com in Marina Del Rey, California. "They're selling 80 percent of the company and doing a concurrent debt offering."

The failure of the Bear Stearns funds follows the shutdown in May of UBS AG's Dillon Read Capital Management LLC hedge fund and last year's meltdown of Amaranth Advisors LLC, which made wrong-way bets on natural-gas futures.

MF Global's sale was managed by 16 investment banks, including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS. Citigroup and JPMorgan arranged the debt sale.

Profit at MF Global more than tripled to $188 million in the year ended March 31, according to the company's prospectus. Revenue more than doubled to $5.7 billion. MF Global is run by CEO Kevin Davis, 46.