Texas chicken-wing chain Wingstop takes flight in debut

Shares of Wingstop, a Dallas-based chicken wing restaurant chain, rose nearly 70 per cent in their market debut on Friday, valuing the company at $914 million.

Wingstop, which operates more than 750 “pre-jet” aviation-themed restaurants in the United States and six other countries, makes chicken wings in a dozen quirky flavours. Its listing coincides with a revival in shares of newly public US restaurants as low gas prices and a brighter job market encourage Americans to dine out.

The IPO raised $40.9 million for Wingstop and $69.4 million for selling stockholders.

Aikman, the face of the company as well as a director, reaped about $1.4 million from the sale of nearly 72,000 shares, which were priced at $19 each, above the expected range of $16-18. – (Reuters)