Chicago-based Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. has announced that it priced its initial public offering (IPO) of 7.7 million shares of common stock at $18.50 per share, raising approximately $142.5 million in gross proceeds. Ares Commercial Real Estate has also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1.1 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any.
Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate's common stock are expected to begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘ACRE.’ The offering is expected to close on Tuesday, May 1.
According to the company, it intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay certain outstanding indebtedness under its debt facilities, to pay the holders of its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock who are redeeming their shares upon the completion of this offering and the balance for general corporate purposes, and to originate its target investments.
