Empire State Realty Trust Inc., whose properties include Manhattan’s Empire State Building, filed to raise as much as $1.07 billion as it proceeds with one of the largest initial public offerings of a U.S. real estate investment trust.

The company, based in New York, plans to offer 71.5 million shares for $13 to $15 each, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. It expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESRT.

Malkin Holdings LLC, supervisor of the Empire State Building, is moving ahead with the IPO after battling a group of dissident investors and rejecting a set of unsolicited offers for the tower. The REIT, which holds 21 New York-area properties, may be attractive to investors as it benefits from tenant demand, tourist visits to the landmark skyscraper and its holdings in prime Manhattan office locations, said Michael Knott, an analyst with research firm Green Street Advisors Inc.

“It would offer public investors a unique way to play the New York market,” Knott, based in Newport Beach, California, said in an interview before the filing. In addition to revenue from the Empire State Building’s observatory, the company has the potential to significantly boost leasing, and has a concentration in the “up-and-coming” Times Square South neighborhood, he said.

The IPO is scheduled to price Oct. 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp.

Investor Approval

Malkin Holdings initially filed for a share sale 19 months ago. The firm, led by Chairman Peter Malkin and his son Anthony Malkin, faced challenges by a minority group within the roughly 2,800 investors who hold stakes in the Empire State Building. After an emotional campaign marked by charges of misrepresentation by both sides, the Malkins in May received the necessary approvals from investors to allow the tower to be rolled into the REIT.

Bidders for the landmark building have tried to upend the IPO. On Sept. 9, Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities LLC offered $1.4 billion for the title to the 102-story tower, according to a letter from Stephen Meister, an attorney representing the dissidents. The offer was more than the $1.18 billion value allocated to the company, Empire State Building Associates LLC, which owns the skyscraper, Meister said in a letter to the Malkins’ attorney.

Best Interest

The Malkins said in a separate filing yesterday that the latest bid would offer “materially less” value to investors because of debt and other obligations. It won’t entertain any more alternatives to the IPO, the company said.

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