Société Générale has fallen short of the minimum price it hoped for in its initial public offering of US investment banking arm Cowen Group, after the float opened 15% below the bottom of its price range, raising $179.5m (€144m).

The French bank sold 11.2 million shares in the New York-based firm at a price of $16, well below the marketed range of $19 to $21 stated in its prospectus.