Hudson's Bay completes initial public stock offering

Department store operator Hudson's Bay Co (HBC-T) said on Monday it had completed its $365.1 million initial public offering.

HBC, which owns Lord & Taylor in the United States and Hudson's Bay in Canada, began trading last Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange on a "when-issued" basis. Shares began trading on a regular basis at the open on Monday.

The offering of 21.48 million shares was priced at the bottom of the company's already lowered range of $17 to $18 per share. That pegs HBC's market capitalization at about $2 billion.

Founded in 1670, Hudson's Bay began as a fur trading business, granted control of a significant part of what is now Canada by King Charles II. It is North America's oldest continually operating company.

The firm went private in 2006, as shoppers fled to U.S.-based heavyweights like Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT-N) and specialty retailers.

NRDC Equity Partners bought out HBC's other investors in 2008, and integrated it with Lord & Taylor, which has 48 stores across the United States.

Both chains are facing stiff competition. In the United States, Lord & Taylor competes with retailers like a resurgent Macy's Inc (M-N), while in Canada, Target Corp (TGT-N) is rolling out its first stores in the spring.