Blackstone-backed La Quinta is seeking to raise as much as $781 million in its U.S. initial share sale. La Quinta plans to sell 37.2 million shares for $18 to $21 each, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the high end of the range, the company would have a market value of $2.57 billion, based on 122.6 million shares that will be outstanding. The company is poised to become the third hotel chain to be taken public by Blackstone in the past five months. The firm’s Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Extended Stay America, co-owned with Centerbridge Partners LP and Paulson and Co., have both jumped since their trading debuts. Blackstone acquired La Quinta in January 2006 for about $3 billion. The New York-based buyout firm explored a sale of the company before opting instead for an initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said in November. Read more over at Bloomberg.
