NEW YORK (AP) – Wright Express Corp., a Maine-based provider of fleet-management services, fell flat in Wednesday’s sole initial public offering, failing to drive interest despite pricing the deal below expectations during a busy month for new stocks.

Wright, with headquarters in South Portland, sold 40 million shares at $18 apiece – below the estimated $19 to $21 range – to raise $720 million in proceeds. All of the shares were sold by parent Cendant Corp., an operator of hotels, rental-car companies and travel services.

Wright shares, trading on the New York Stock Exchange as “WXS,” opened at $17.50 and closed at $17.10, down 90 cents, or about 5 percent.

It was the sixth most active issue on the Big Board, with about 16.4 million shares changing hands.

J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch co-managed the offering. Wright’s underwriters have the option to buy up to 6 million additional shares to cover over-allotments.

In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Wright said it would use any proceeds from the over-allotment option to repay debt and for general corporate purposes.

Wright manages fleets of both commercial and government vehicles, collecting data on mileage, fuel and expenditures at hundreds of thousands of maintenance and gas stations across the country. In 2004, the company posted a profit of $51.2 million and logged revenue of $189.1 million.