La Quinta Raises $650M in IPO

IRVING, TX—La Quinta Holdings began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the LQ symbol Wednesday, eight years after being taken private by the Blackstone Group. The Irving, TX-based operator of select-service hotels raised $650 million in its initial public offering Tuesday, selling 38.25 million shares at $17 apiece, below the $18-to-$21 range the company previously announced.

LaQuinta, which has also granted underwriters the option to buy as many as 5.7 million additional shares at the IPO price, expects to realize about $618 million in net proceeds from the IPO. It plans to use net proceeds to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. The company had expected to raise as much as $780 million from the IPO, according to an SEC filing in March.