Late Thursday, Empire State Building Realty Trust, the owner of the iconic New York skyscraper, filed for an initial public offering of 71.5 million shares. The announced price range is from $15 to $17 per share. Thus, the company hopes to raise at least $1 billion.

The owner of New York's most famous skyscraper and 20 other properties in New York City is looking to go public, according to a filing late Thursday by Empire State Building Realty Trust (ESB). The IPO will offer investors 71.5 million ESB shares. The announced price range is from $15 to $17 per share. By doing so, the company intends to raise at least $1 billion. Experts estimate the cost of the Empire State Building alone at $1.18 billion.

The final price of the shares will be set based on the results of the road show, which is carried out by Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

The company that controls ESB, Malkin Holdings LLP, announced its intention to conduct an IPO back in November 2011, but immediately encountered difficulties. A small group of investors opposed it, but they nevertheless managed to stall the IPO for a long time with several lawsuits filed in New York courts. And then Malkin Holdings began to receive applications from realtors offering to buy the Empire State Building. For example, just days before filing for the IPO, ESB received an offer to purchase from New York realtor Joseph Sitt. His company Thor Equities is ready to pay $1.4 billion for the skyscraper alone. A little earlier, Cammebys International Group offered $2 billion for the skyscraper. All offers were rejected by Malkin Holdings.

Ivan Nikolsky

Empire State Building can be purchased for $17