Big Monotype Imaging shareholder will sell shares

Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc.'s biggest shareholder plans to sell almost a third of its stake in the text imaging technology developer, the Woburn company said today.

Monotype's biggest shareholder is TA Associates Funds; TA Associates is a private equity investment firm with offices in Boston.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Monotype said shareholders are selling 6 million shares and have granted the underwriters options to buy up to an additional 900,000 shares.

J.P. Morgan Securities and Banc of America Securities are underwriting the sale, with William Blair, Canaccord Adams, Jefferies and Needham as co-managers.

TA Associates Funds plans to sell 5.2 million of its 17.1 million shares. Jonathan M. Weeks and A. Bruce Johnston, who serve on Monotype's board, are managing directors at TA Associates. TA Associates owns a little less than half of the company.

Monotype's fourth-biggest shareholder, D.B. Zwirn & Co., plans to sell all of its 764,800 shares, which represent a stake of about 2 percent in the company. D.B. Zwirn, which is managed by Daniel Zwirn, earlier this year planned to liquidate $4 billion of its investments because clients were withdrawing their money. (AP)