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Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (NYSE: RH) is opening for trading despite the delays seen in other IPOs due to Hurricane Sandy closing the exchanges. The high-end furniture and fixture retailer sold some 5,164,332 shares of its common stock at $24.00 per share. Restoration Hardware itself sold 4,782,609 shares, and selling shareholders sold some 381,723 shares of common stock.

Shares have opened for trading and the reported unofficial opening price was said to be $32.05.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering, with Baird, William Blair, Piper Jaffray & Co. and Stifel Nicolaus Weisel acting as co-managers. The underwriters also have an option to purchase up to an additional 774,650 shares, but these will all be coming from the selling shareholders if exercised.

As far as how the pricing went, this was at the top-end of the range. It does need to be mentioned that in a recent management change the chairman of the company was forced out due to an inappropriate relationship in the company. That being said, Francis Gaskins of IPOdesktop.com spoke very favorably about this IPO just yesterday on Bloomberg TV. It should also be noted that this will be the second time around that Restoration Hardware has been a public company.

JON C. OGG