Empire State owner files for up to $1 b IPO

Reuters: Empire State Realty Trust, the real estate investment trust that owns New York landmark Empire State Building, filed for an initial public offering of up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock on Monday.

In November, Malkin Holdings -- which owns and supervises the iconic tower -- had said it would likely file to become a publicly traded REIT within three months.

The Malkin family gained control of the 102-storey building in April 2002, when it created Empire State Land Associates and bought the landmark at 350 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and the land under it for $57.5 million.

The company said the Empire State Building, its flagship property, provides significant revenue through its office and retail leases, observatory operations and broadcasting licenses and related leased space.

On a pro forma basis, for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 the company generated revenue about $156.7 million from the building. It posted a profit of $71 million in the period, rebounding from lows during the financial crisis.

The REIT, which plans to list under the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ESB,” said it would use the proceeds from the offering to repay debt and for general corporate purposes, among others.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are underwriting the IPO.

Like a slew of recent tech and internet IPOs, Empire State will have two classes of stock -- class A share being sold to the public worth one vote and class B shares with 50 votes each.

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filing is used to calculate registration fees.

The final size of the IPO can be different.