Business

ESB IPO set to go

A legal challenge to a plan to let the public buy shares in the Empire State Building was cast aside yesterday.

Judge O. Peter Sherwood rejected arguments by a small group of current investors in the building that the offer would violate state law.

The dispute arose over plans by real estate magnates Peter Malkin and his son Anthony to offer the public shares in their holdings in Manhattan and Connecticut, including the Empire State Building. The offering is expected to raise $1 billion for a new company called Empire State Trust Inc.