British infrastructure investor John Laing Group is to list on the London Stock Exchange to raise money for new investments and step up its expansion in the United States.
The group said on Monday it expected to raise gross proceeds of around 130 million pounds ($197 million).
John Laing, which was taken private by investment firm Henderson in 2007, could be valued at up to 1 billion pounds in the deal, a source familiar with the matter said.
The firm deals mainly in Public Private Partnerships (PPP), where private investors fund and deliver government projects, and has expanded into continental Europe and Australia as well as the United States.
Chief Executive Olivier Brousse said the company would focus on building its profile in the United States before looking to new locations. He added that the firm hoped the UK market would revive in coming years following the financial crisis.
"It's been subdued in the last couple of years in the UK," Brousse said. "But we believe that there is so much infrastructure to be built that government will need the private sector to fund the projects and also deliver them."
Consulting firm McKinsey has estimated that $57 trillion of global infrastructure investment is needed between 2013 and 2030 as the world grapples with a growing population and the congestion of existing infrastructure, as well as rising energy needs.
The United Nations projected in 2013 that the current world population of 7.2 billion could hit 9.6 billion by 2050.
John Laing's projects include the 60,000 seat New Perth Stadium in Australia and Britain's 4.7 billion-pound Intercity Express Programme. The firm had an investment portfolio book value of 781 million pounds as of Sept. 30 last year.
The model of contracting out public projects to private firms has proved controversial in the past, with critics saying some have resulted in poor deals for taxpayers and left governments unable to renegotiate contracts following the global recession.
John Laing only invests and manages new projects, including hospitals, trainlines and bridges. The firm has taken on over 100 projects in the past three decades.
The firm's issue will consist of new and existing shares. The initial public offering (IPO) is being run by Barclays and HSBC. RBC Capital Markets is acting as lead manager, while Greenhill is financial adviser.
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