Aug 5 (Reuters) - Weber Inc (WEBR.N) on Thursday raised about $250 million in its initial public offering, which was less than half the amount it had planned to raise earlier. The grill maker priced its IPO of about 17.9 million shares at $14 a piece, it said in a statement. Weber last month had planned to sell 46.88 million shares at between $15 and $17 each, which would have helped it raise up to $797 million at a valuation of about $5 billion. read more The Palatine, Illinois-based company, whose grill types include gas, electric and charcoal, debuts on Thursday, about a week after rival wood pellet grill maker Traeger Inc (COOK.N) started trading on the NYSE. It was founded by George Stephen Sr, who invented the Weber Kettle — a dome-shaped charcoal grill — about 70 years ago. BDT Capital Partners, a U.S. fund run by Warren Buffett"s banker Byron Trott, holds a controlling interest in the company in partnership with the Stephen family and management. Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan are among the underwriters for the offering. (This story has been refiled to add story keyword used by media customers)