Outback parent co. stock blooms after IPO

(AP) Shares of Bloomin' Brands, which operates Outback Steakhouse and other chains, rose nearly 11 percent in their first morning of trading on the Nasdaq.

Shares rose $1.19, or 10.8 percent, to $12.18 in early trading Wednesday.

Late Tuesday, the Tampa, Fla.-based company priced its initial public offering of 16 million shares at $11 per share, for gross proceeds of $176 million. Other selling stockholders offered 3 million additional shares.

The IPO price was below the $13 to $15 per share that was expected.

Bloomin' Brands operates restaurant chains including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and others. It operates more than 1,400 restaurants in 48 states and 20 countries.

The stock is trading under the ticker "BLMN" on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.