Empire State to list on NYSE

New York's Empire State Building is one step closer to being part of a new publicly traded company after investors backed the inclusion of the 1931 tower in a newly created real estate investment trust.

Investors with interests in more than 80 per cent of the units that comprise the building have backed a proposal to include it in the trust, which is called Empire State Realty Inc, according to a regulatory filing yesterday.

The plans are the brainchild of the Malkin real estate family, which, along with a small group of investors in the midtown Manhattan structure, has led the effort to bring the building to the stock market.

The backing of more than 80 per cent of investors allows the Malkin family to use a forced buyout clause to get the support of any holdouts.