King Kong IPO

King Kong IPO New York City’s Malkin family interests filed an S-11 with the SEC yesterday in anticipation of the Initial Public Offering of Empire State Realty Trust. This is notable on a number of fronts. The new office REIT will have one of the crown jewels in its portfolio, the venerable Empire State Building. Tony Malkin, CEO of the proposed REIT, has assembled a blue chip team of consultants and bankers to shepherd the company through an IPO in a challenging equity market. I am confident that Malkin will cross the finish line, but the company’s major challenge will not be the capital markets or its real estate portfolio; instead, the challenge will be to construct a team that is prepared to address the rigors and dynamics of the public markets. The public markets are often a challenge for intensely private companies. Unlike the Malkins, who will cross the finish line well prepared, some forget that they did not close their financing the day of the IPO, but instead sold the company and transferred control.