Empire State Building Might Join IPO
Even King Kong might go ape over this possible business deal: The Empire State Building could become part of a publicly traded real estate investmentcompany.
Malkin Holdings LLC, the family-owned company that supervises the portfolio of office properties that includes the iconic Manhattan skyscraper, is weighing that possibility, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
The filing, called an 8-K, does not necessarily mean that an initial public offering is imminent or even likely.
Scott Sweet, a senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, said the 8-K filing is rare, and could be an attempt at a trial balloon or simply as a method of informing potential investors and traders. It also might be a means to communicate with shareholders that something is afoot.
"They're going through the legal channels of announcing there could be something happening and are making it clear what it could be," he said.
In the one-paragraph filing, the company said it could not disclose further information at this time because of legal reasons. But the company said in the filing that more information could be forthcoming in about three months.
The company echoed its filing in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. It declined to answer specific questions about any possible public offering.
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 the giant ape scaled in the 1933 film "King Kong."
Earlier this year, the building announced it was completing a $550 million renovation project with the replacement of its elevators.
