The FINANCIAL -- Ten years after its Initial Public Offering, UPS (NYSE:UPS) marked the anniversary on November 6 as its chief executive officer returned to the Big Apple to ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange.

Chairman and CEO Scott Davis was joined by members of the UPS Board of Directors and senior executives in launching the trading day on Friday. Davis is the 10th chairman and CEO in UPS's 102-year history but only the third to spend time guiding the affairs of a "public" UPS.

UPS, founded as a Seattle messenger service in 1907 by a 19-year-old named Jim Casey, was owned privately by employees, retirees and various foundations until Nov. 10, 1999. On that day, UPS issued 109.4 million Class B shares representing 10 percent of the company's outstanding shares at an IPO price of $50 per share.

At the time, the $5.47 billion raised on that day was the largest domestic IPO ever. Over the ensuing 10 years, public ownership of UPS has grown from 10 percent of the company's stock to 70 percent.

"The IPO marked another milestone in our 102-year history that allowed us to lever our financial strength to expand our business," said Davis, noting UPS now offers a broad range of logistics, supply chain, freight, customs brokerage, financial and retail services.

"I firmly believe that going public facilitated execution of UPS's strategy to become the leading global transportation solutions provider," he added. "UPS is better positioned today than at any time in its history."

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