Buyout firm CVC is mulling a stock market listing for Swedish construction products and tools supplier Ahlsell, which could be worth around 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) including debt, people familiar with the matter said.
The sources said CVC had invited banks to discuss options for an initial public offering (IPO) of Ahlsell which could happen next year, although no firm timing had been set.
"They invited a few selected banks to pitch last week," one source familiar with the matter said.
CVC and Ahlsell declined to comment. The sources declined to be identified because the plans are not public.
Plans to list Ahlsell add to a big IPO pipeline of private equity-owned Swedish companies after a record first half of the year, when 12 companies floated on the Stockholm bourse's main board. Most of them have strongly outperformed the wider market.
Ahlsell, which CVC bought in 2012 for 1.8 billion euros from Cinven and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, would probably be the biggest among known IPO candidates in Sweden in the next year.
Private equity-owned companies on track for listings this year include Bain's Bravida, EQT's Dometic and AcadeMedia, as well as PAI's Perstorp.
Deutsche Bank advised CVC when it bought Ahlsell, whereas Goldman Sachs and Nordea advised the sellers. All three banks helped finance the deal.
Ahlsell employs around 4,800 people and had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 1.9 billion Swedish crowns ($227 million) in 2014 on sales of 21.8 billion, most of it in Sweden.
Apart from the Nordic countries, it has some sales in Estonia, Russia and Poland.
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