NEW YORK - NetSuite, a software company controlled by Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison, on Wednesday raised $161 million with an initial public offering that priced far higher than expectations.

About 6.2 million shares sold for $26 apiece, according to an underwriter.

That price was double the low end of an initial forecast range of $13 to $16, and $4 a share higher than the top of the final forecast of $19 to $22 on Wednesday.

Underwriters, led by Credit Suisse and with W.R. Hambrecht as co-manager, have the option to purchase an additional 930,000 shares to cover overallotments.

If the "greenshoe" option is exercised, NetSuite will have raised about $185 million. Its market capitalization is about $1.5 billion, based on its IPO price. About 10% of the company's outstanding shares are being floated in the public offering.

NetSuite, which will remain majority-owned by Ellison after the offering, plans to use the proceeds to pay down a line of credit from an Ellison-controlled company, which had a balance of $8 million as of Sept. 30, and for capital expenditures, including a second data center.

The San Mateo, California-based company, which targets its Web-based software products at small and mid-sized businesses, has been approved to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "N". Trading is expected to begin on Thursday.

(Reporting by Lilla Zuill, editing by Phil Berlowitz, Richard Chang)

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