Turbulent IPO, trading debut for Blackstone-backed Orbitz(2)

Shares of online travel site Orbitz are experiencing stock market turbulence, much like its private equity backer, The Blackstone Group.

Orbitz sold 34 million shares Thursday at $15 (€10.86) per share, below the expected $16 to $18 range, and subsequently saw its stock slide through the initial public offering price during Friday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

At press time, Orbitz shares were down more than 3 percent to $14.50, and several financial bloggers were commenting that Orbitz deserved its ticker symbol: “OWW”.

Blackstone – which paid $4.3 billion for Orbitz and Cheap Tickets last year – also had a rough day on Wall Street, with its stock price dropping more than 5 percent. Shares in its management company hit an all-time low of $25.63 Friday and closed up at $25.95 – more than 16 percent less than Blackstone’s $31 offering price in June.

Blackstone did not return a request for comment.