Stock market investors continue to show an appetite for real estate.
The Brixmor Property Group, a real estate investment trust owned by the Blackstone Group, sold more shares than it had expected in its initial public offering on Tuesday evening, reflecting strong demand from investors. The shares were priced at $20 each, the middle of an expected range, raising $825 million and giving the company a market value of about $4.4 billion.
The stock rose on Wednesday in the company’s trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange. After opening at $20.65, shares of Brixmor were up as much as 4 percent during the day.
“Our story really resonated with investors, and that led to more demand that allowed us to upsize,†Michael A. Carroll, the chief executive of Brixmor, said in an interview.
Investors are looking to gain exposure to the strengthening commercial real estate market in the United States. Vacancy rates are expected to decline for commercial properties and rents are expected to grow modestly, the National Association of Realtors said in a forecast released in August.
In October, the Empire State Realty Trust raised $929.5 million in an initial public offering. Its shares, through Tuesday, have risen 9 percent from the I.P.O. price.
Investors are betting that Brixmor, which has 522 shopping centers across the country, is poised to benefit from the improving property market. The company says it has the nation’s largest wholly owned portfolio of shopping centers anchored by grocery stores.
The company, formerly known as the Centro Properties Group, was in need of capital before Blackstone bought it in 2011. Since then, Brixmor has invested $339 million to improve its assets, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Brixmor said it planned to use the proceeds from the offering to reduce its debt. As of June 30, its total debt was about $6.7 billion, according to the filing.
The company sold 41.3 million shares in the offering, more than the 37.5 million shares it had expected to sell. The deal’s underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 6.2 million shares.
Blackstone will remain the majority owner, with about 73 percent of the company’s shares, according to a filing.
The offering was led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Securities.
