Investors offered shares in New York’s Empire State Building
Investors will be able to own a piece of the Empire State Building after its owners announced plans to list the New York landmark on the New York Stock Exchange.
The 102-story building, once the tallest in the world, forms part of the Empire State Realty Trust Inc, owned by the Malkin Family since 2002.
The REIT plans to issue two classes of stock – class A shares being sold to the public worth one vote each and class B shares with 50 votes each.
On a pro forma basis, the company generated revenue of about $156.7 million from the building for the nine months ended September 30. In total, it earned $71 million, rebounding from lows during the financial crisis.
The Empire State Building accounts for the largest chunk of revenue for the REIT, which also owns 12 office properties and six standalone retail properties mostly located in midtown Manhattan.
Between $175 million and $215 million of capital raised through the listing will be used to renovate and reposition its properties.
Standing at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street, the Art Deco building rises to 443.2 metres when including its antennae spire.
It was built in 1931 and reined as the tallest building in the world until the construction of the World Trade Centre North Tower. It famously featured in the 1933 movie King Kong as the site where the giant ape battled fighter planes.
It is currently the tallest building in New York, third tallest in the US and 15th tallest in the world.
The Empire State Building was designed by William F. Lamb from the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, which produced the building drawings in just two weeks.
Empire State Realty will use the ticker symbol ESB.
As part of the IP, the company said it would consolidate a group of closely held companies to form a real estate investment trust.