It ended up costing the Malkin family around $280 million in underwriting fees, legal expenses, and transfer taxes for the Empire State Building to go public. But gone public it has, and the initial public offering yesterday—71.5 million shares priced at $13 per share—raised $929.5 million, one of the largest I.P.Os ever for a United States real estate investment trust. Today the stock starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESRT.
The Malkins had plenty of suitors willing to take the building off their hands in recent months—Joe Sitt and Reuven Kahane both made offers of over $2 billion—but the Malkins were never swayed in their desire to take the iconic 102-story Art Deco tower public. Now it's on to the second stage of their plan, in which they raise over $1 billion, buy out the Helmsley estate's shares, and repay investors for the cost of the public offering.
· In a Public Offering, a Symbol of New York Gains a Symbol: ESRT [NYT]
· Empire State Building coverage [Curbed]