Habit Burger prices IPO at $18 per shareHabit Burger prices IPO at $18 per share

The parent of the Habit Burger Grill chain set the price of its initial public offering late Wednesday at $18 per share, higher than the range of $14 to $16 per share it initially projected.

At the $18 per share price, the IPO raised at least $90 million for Habit Restaurants Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based parent to the better-burger chain. The company was scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Market Thursday under the ticker symbol “HABT.”

The offering included 5 million shares of Class A common stock, and underwriters have an option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares.

Known for its char-grilled burgers, sandwiches and salads, the fast-casual Habit Burger chain has more than 100 locations in four western states, and is the first of the better-burger players to go public. Shake Shack, the fast-casual brand owned by New York-based Union Square Hospitality Group, is also reportedly considering an IPO.

Habit Burger’s higher-than-expected share price reflects what appears to be a hunger among investors for growing restaurant companies at a time when restaurant stocks are trading at high valuations.

The concept joins an ever-growing list of restaurant companies that have gone public this year, including Zoe’s Kitchen Inc., Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc., El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc., and Papa Murphy’s International LLC.

J. Alexander’s Holdings Inc. also recently filed for an IPO, and both Wingstop Restaurants Inc. and Café Rio Inc. are reportedly considering offerings.

Habit Burger is owned by Greenwich, Conn.-based private-equity firm KarpReilly LLC, which took a majority stake in 2007.

In earlier filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said affiliates and certain members of the board will hold most of the issued and outstanding Class B common stock and will control a majority of the combined voting power, creating a “controlled company.”

Piper Jaffray & Co., Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are acting as lead book runners for the offering. Raymond James & Associates Inc. is also acting as a book runner and Stifel and Stephens Inc. are acting as co-managers.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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