Orbitz Prices Stock At $26 For IPO

CHICAGO (AP) -- Orbitz Inc. shares priced at $26 each on Tuesday, raising $316.7 million in an initial public offer, a day before the Internet travel company was to start trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Orbitz, which operates a Web site selling flights, lodging, rental cars, and vacation packages, announced that 12.18 million shares would be available. The company is selling 4 million shares and various other stockholders are selling another 8.18 million shares.

The $26 price was above the $22 to $24 per share Orbitz expected, according to documents the company filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company's $93.9 million share of the proceeds will go toward working capital and general corporate purposes, Orbitz officials said in a statement. The sale is being led by Goldman, Sachs & Co., with Credit Suisse First Boston as co-lead manager.

Chicago-based Orbitz, whose shares will trade under the symbol ORBZ, was started in early 2000 with airline investors American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and United. In October, United was given bankruptcy court approval to sell some of its 26 percent stake in Orbitz.

In the first nine months of 2003, Orbitz had a net loss of $1.4 million on revenue of $172.1 million, according to the SEC filing. Since its founding in February 2000 until the end of September, Orbitz said its losses, excluding one-time charges, have totaled $169.3 million.