Orbitz IPO flys high - raises $316 million Tuesday December 16, 6:58 PM EST (Updates with more details, analyst quotes) By Steve James NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Online travel company Orbitz Inc. raised a higher-than-expected $316.7 million on Tuesday in one of the most anticipated initial public offerings of the year. The Chicago-based company said it priced its IPO at $26 per share -- above the estimated price range of $22-$24. Orbitz also increased the number of class A common shares being offered from 11 million to 12.18 million. Of the shares being offered, the company is selling 4 million and 8.18 million are being sold by certain stockholders. Orbitz, which only last quarter began to record a profit, expects to use the approximately $93.9 million in net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes. The company said it will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of Class A common stock by the selling stockholders. The underwriters, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston, Legg Mason Wood Walker and Thomas Weisel Partners, also have an option to purchase up to an additional 1.83 million shares from certain of the selling stockholders. "What happened is that people didn't realize it made a profit in the September quarter," said analyst Francis Gaskins, of IPO Desktop, an IPO monitor in Los Angeles. "It's no longer a money-losing dot-com, but a money-making dot-com," he told Reuters. "It upped its price and the number of shares; this thing will fly tomorrow," said John Fitzgibbon, editor of the IPO online publication 123jump.com. The company has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol "ORBZ" (ORBZ) and is expected to begin trading on Wednesday. Orbitz, which allows customers to make reservations for airlines, hotels, cruises and rental cars through its Web site, was founded by the five largest U.S. airlines in February 2000. But until the most recent quarter had yet to make a profit. In fiscal 2002, it had a net loss of nearly $87 million. In the first nine months of this year, the company reported a $1.4 million net loss on revenue of $172.1 million, although it posted a small profit in the third quarter. Analysts have said Orbitz faces fierce competition as it attempts to differentiate itself from rivals like No. 1 travel site Expedia, a unit of InterActiveCorp. (IACI), and No. 2 Travelocity, a unit of Sabre Holdings Corp. (TSG). Roger EWROPS