Empire State Realty (ESRT) began trading on the NYSE on 2 October 2013

Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) was last up 26 cents, or 2%, to $13.26 on Wednesday, rising in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange after its initial public offering priced at the low end of the expected range. Empire State Realty owns the Empire State Building and other New York properties. 

On Tuesday, the real estate investment trust sold 71.5 million shares for $13 each in its IPO to raise $929.5 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The company had predicted shares would price at between $13 and $15.

• Sector(s): Real Estate
• Industry: REIT - Diversified
• Full Time Employees: 666
• https://www.esrtreit.com

Ticker:  ESRT 

History

• At 1,454 feet, the new art deco skyscraper rises above the Chrysler Building, in the background. At its 1931 opening, the Empire State Building was nearly empty, thanks to the Depression. Construction took only one year and 45 days. The building's official opening was marked by President Herbert Hoover switching on its lights from Washington.
• Shortly before 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 28, 1945, a 10-ton B-25 bomber flew into the 78th and 79th floors of the Empire State Building. The explosion blew a hole 18 feet wide and sent one of the bomber's engines through the other side and across 33rd Street onto the roof of another building. Fourteen people died, but the building remained structurally intact.
• A $20 million makeover that began recently will replace all 6,513 windows to reduce energy consumption.
• With the collapse of the World Trade Center's towers, the Empire State Building again became New York's tallest building. It will return to second place once the new One World Trade Center building is completed, in late 2013.

Empire State Building owners to pursue IPO plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Malkin Holdings LLC said on Friday it planned to pursue a public listing for the Empire State Building after reviewing several bids to buy control of the landmark New York skyscraper.
Ticker:  ESRT

In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the holding company said it had "received indications of interest to purchase the fee and/or operating lease positions of the Empire State Building, as well as one indication of interest to purchase the fee and operating lease positions of One Grand Central Place".

But after a review, the company decided it was in the best interest of investors to proceed with the consolidation and initial public offering.

The building and its investors are managed by Malkin Holdings, which spearheaded a plan to roll the skyscraper, once the world's tallest building, into a real estate investment trust, called Empire State Realty Trust Inc, containing more than 18 properties.

Malkin Holdings was advised by Lazard Freres & Co LLC.

A spokesman for Malkin declined to comment beyond the filing.

Opened in 1931 during the Great Depression, the Empire State Building is one of New York's leading tourist attractions - known for its Art Deco tower and its colored light display at night.

Empire State Realty (ESB) approved the IPO

The New York City icon stood as the tallest building in the world from its completion in 1931 until it was surpassed by the ill fated North tower of the World Trade Center in 1972. The building was completed in less than 15 months and it came in under budget at a cost of $41 million dollars.

Ticker:  ESRT

Initially the building struggled to break even, as it was opened at the bottom of the Great Depression and its location more than 4 blocks from Grand Central and Penn Station made it more difficult to reach than its competitors, The Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. In its first year the observation deck grossed $2million dollars which was as much as the rental income.

The financial turning point came in 1951 when the building was sold to Roger L. Stevens and his partnership for $51 million; at the time the largest real estate deal for a single structure in history.

A woman stops to photograph the skyline of New York across from the Empire State Building as she walks in a park along the Hudson River in Hoboken

Currently the building is owned by a by a group comprised of around 2,800 shareholders. On Wednesday the investors overwhelmingly approved the public offering. The new entity will be known as the Empire State Realty Trust and it will be a REIT that also controls 18 other properties.

The IPO has been pegged at approximately $1 billion and the majority owner of the current partnership, the Malkin family, will receive a stake in the new company valued at more than $714 million dollars.

Like any huge deal there could be the devil in the fine print. Some of the shareholders are going to court to block the transaction claiming the structure in the new deal favors the Malkin family at their expense.

The other hurdle is that the deal will take several months to close and if the current real estate market were to sour, there is no guarantee the $1 billion could be raised. Over the first four months of 2013 only about $1.1 billion has been raised via REIT’s and skeptics feel that although the building itself is valued at over $2.3 billion they might not be able to raise the money they are currently promising the shareholders.

Empire State Building owner plans $1 billion IPO

NEW YORK — The company that runs Manhattan’s Empire State Building is planning an initial public offering that could raise as much as $1 billion.
Ticker:  ESRT
Empire State Realty Trust Inc. owns and operates 12 properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area.

The company didn’t say in its regulatory filing Monday how many shares might be involved in the IPO or what price they might fetch. The $1 billion amount isn’t final, either. It’s subject to investor demand.

Empire State Realty said it plans to use the offering’s net proceeds to pay certain investors, repay loans, cover the expenses of the IPO and the company’s formation last summer, and for general purposes and possible future acquisitions.

Empire State Realty’s predecessor is Malkin Holdings LLC, which disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in November that it was considering the possibility of a publicly traded real estate investment company.

The company has been renovating its properties, and said that it needs $55 million to $65 million beyond 2013 to finish upgrades at the Empire State Building.

The Empire State Building, a 102-story tower completed in 1931, is famous for its rooftop view and for its role as the building that a giant ape scaled in the 1933 film “King Kong.”

Empire State Realty expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “ESB” ticker symbol.