AFRT Prices IPO

American Financial Realty Trust, a Jenkintown, Pa.-based real estate investment trust, has priced an initial public offering of 55.95 million common shares at $12.50 per share.The net proceeds of about $642 million will be used primarily to fund the acquisition of additional properties, AFRT said. Of the IPO shares, 200,000 are being sold by a shareholder, while the rest are being sold by AFRT, the company said. The underwriters have a 30-day option to buy up to approximately 8.39 million additional shares to cover any overallotments. The REIT acquires real estate, primarily bank branches and office buildings, from financial institutions and manages them under lease arrangements. Lewis S. Ranieri, chairman of AFRT, is widely regarded as the father of the mortgage-backed security. Banc of America Securities and Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. acted as joint managers of the offering.