Empire State Realty IPO raises US$929.5m

[NEW YORK] Empire State Realty Trust Inc, whose properties include Manhattan's Empire State Building, raised US$929.5 million in its initial public offering (IPO), pricing the shares at the low end of the range.

The real estate investment trust (Reit), based in New York, sold 71.5 million shares for US$13 each, according to a company statement on Tuesday, after offering them for US$13 to US$15. The shares started trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESRT.

The sale culminates an almost two-year quest by the Empire State Building's supervisors, Peter Malkin and his son Anthony Malkin, to take Manhattan's signature skyscraper and 20 other New York-area properties pu…