Avia filed for an initial public offering.

The athletic shoe company, which had been expected for months to make the offering, said in filings with the SEC that it expects 2.68 million common shares to go on the public market in mid-March at an initial price of between $11 and $14 a share. Merrill Lynch Capital Markets and Montgomery Securities are the lead underwriters. The Portland, Ore., company makes Avia aerobics, tennis and other athletic shoes and Donner Mountain hiking boots.