REITs Planning IPOs

Two real estate investment trusts have registered their intent with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make initial public offerings of common stock, and another REIT has just made its IPO.McLean, Va.-based Gladstone Commercial Corp. has sold 6.6 million shares at $15 per share for total proceeds of $99 million. (An additional 990,000 shares could be issued to cover overallotments.) The stock began trading on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol GOOD, opening at $15.40. The proceeds from the offering will be used to invest in net-leased industrial and commercial property and make commercial mortgage loans, Gladstone said. The forthcoming IPOs are from First Potomac Realty Trust, a metropolitan Washington-based industrial REIT, and Ashford Hospitality Trust, a Maryland-based lodging financing company that will opt for REIT status following its IPO. The Ashford IPO is expected to raise $402.5 million at an estimated $10 per share. First Potomac's SEC filing does not specify the offer price or number of shares to be offered.