Colony Financial Inc. on Friday said it has priced a public offering of 7 million common shares, which it expects will raise at least $131 million before fees.

The Santa Monica real estate investment trust, an affiliate of billionaire Thomas Barrack Jr.’s Colony Capital LLC, did not specify its offering price, but suggested that it was close to Thursday’s closing price of $19.35 a share.

The REIT plans to use the net proceeds to pay down its revolving credit facility, finance additional investments and for general corporate purposes.

The offering could gross as much as $151 million if underwriter BofA Merrill Lynch exercises its option to purchase an additional 1.05 million shares.

Shares closed down 1.4 percent to $19.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.