Aviv REIT climbs in 1st day as publicly traded co.

NEW YORK (AP) — Aviv REIT's stock rose more than 13 percent in its first day as a publicly traded company.

The real estate investment trust's stock climbed $2.62, or 13.1 percent, to $22.62 in morning trading. Shares opened at $22.20.

Aviv REIT Inc. priced its initial public offering of 13.2 million shares at $20 per share. This was at the high end of its expected price range of $18 to $20 per share.

The Chicago company said Thursday that it plans to use the offering's net proceeds to pay back some debt and will use the rest of the net proceeds for general corporate purposes such as potential acquisitions.

The offering is expected to close on Tuesday.

Aviv REIT is trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the "AVIV" ticker symbol.